Homecoming
by LuluFan
Summary: Dante and Lulu work through her doubts about getting married.  What happens when a threat they never saw coming could take away everything they worked for?
1. Chapter 1

Homecoming

The car ride home from Sonny's was quiet. Dante was lost in thought about what could have happened at the warehouse and what his brother might be hiding about it. Lulu was silently panicking about their first time alone, at home, with no interruptions since the shooting rocked their world and changed everything. It had been six weeks since that night she waited for Dante to come home so she could accept his proposal. Six weeks since her dream of a happy life married to the man she loves was shattered. She had successfully avoided that difficult conversation until now but it couldn't be avoided any longer.

Dante broke the silence "Thanks for coming to Sonny's tonight, I know he isn't your favorite person".

"Of course" Lulu shrugged "Kristina wanted her oldest brother there and going off to college is a big deal"

"I'm so proud of her for getting into an Ivy League school like Yale" beamed Dante.

"It is a huge accomplishment" Lulu agreed "Don't you think it is a little odd that they accepted her off of the waiting list in the middle of the semester though?"

Dante shrugged "She said she has to take a winter course to make up the time"

Lulu suspected Sonny had something to do with Kristina's surprise acceptance but decided to drop it as she pulled her car into the parking lot at Dante's building. That last thing they needed was a fight about Sonny.

"Home sweet home" sighed Dante "I can't wait to take a real shower and cuddle up with you in our comfortable bed. No nurses coming in to poke at me, no machines beeping, no unwanted guests, just us."

Lulu just nodded in agreement as she got his bag out of the trunk. Dante reached for it but she insisted on carrying it up to the loft "You are still recovering!"

They got into the elevator and Lulu closed the door and pressed the button. As they rose to Dante's floor Lulu confessed "I wasn't expecting you to be released so soon, I would have cleaned up and stocked the fridge. I promise I will go out and get all your favorites tomorrow so you can be comfortable while you stay home to rest and recover".

"Baby don't be silly! I'm just happy to be out of the hospital and home with you so we can get on with our lives" Dante assured her.

The elevator arrived at Dante's floor and the door opened. Dante walked out first and noticed the big red curtain and the chandelier Lulu had set up for her surprise proposal acceptance. He felt a pang of sadness realizing just what a special night they had missed because he had decided to go off on his own and check on Sonny's warehouses with no back-up. If only he had just come home instead they wouldn't have missed out on these last six weeks as a happily engaged couple and Lulu wouldn't be having doubts about marrying a cop. He hoped if he could quickly solve the case that Lulu would relax a little about the dangers of his job. Lulu noticed him staring at the set-up "I'm sorry, I should have taken that stuff down. It has just been so busy with you in the hospital and helping Maxie out at Crimson".

"No, I'm happy I got to see all of the work you put in. I'm just sorry that night was ruined after you went to all of that trouble to set up such a special evening for us" Dante replied.

"Dante it doesn't matter. What matters is that you lived and are back home where you belong." Lulu quickly changed the subject "Why don't you go take a nice hot shower while I clean up a little and put fresh sheets on the bed?"

"A hot shower sounds nice but it would sound even nicer if you joined me." Dante flirted.

"Dante you know that's not a good idea. You are still recovering from major surgery." Lulu admonished "Now go on while I pick up out here"

Dante sighed dejectedly and gave her a guilty grin "Yes mam"

She watched him shuffle off to the bathroom and then started to clean up the loft. She stripped the sheets off of the bed and put on fresh ones. She picked up all of the clothes laying around and tossed them in the hamper. Next she got out the vacuum and vacuumed up all of the dust bunnies that had collected. Once the loft looked reasonably presentable again, she changed out of her dress and tights into a pair of black yoga pants and a pink tank top. She grabbed a bottle of wine out of the fridge and two glasses off of the shelf. She settled on the couch and poured them both a glass while she waited for Dante to finish showering. She nervously gulped down her wine and poured herself another glass. Now there was nothing left to do but wait.

Minutes later Dante came out of the bathroom wearing a pair of black sweatpants with a towel draped around his neck. His hair was wet and tousled and her heart leapt at how handsome and full of life he looked. He tossed the towel in the hamper and came to join her on the couch. He kissed her softly on the lips and said "the place looks great, you take such good care of me" and kissed her again. She put her wine glass down and cuddled into his side breathing him in. Being this close to him was making it difficult to remember that an important conversation needed to happen. She sighed and closed her eyes "I missed this so much".

"Me too baby, more than anything" he said as he kissed the top of her head.

He took a deep breath and decided it was time they had a serious talk. "Lulu" he started "I know this has been a difficult few weeks for you and for us. It has to be tough on you watching me almost die in the hospital for the second time in two years."

Lulu interrupted, tears filling her eyes "Dante, I know there are things we need to talk about but just for tonight, can we leave it be and just enjoy each other? I just want to climb into bed and sleep next you knowing that you are okay and home where you belong." The tears spilled over and started running down her cheeks. Dante used his thumbs to wipe them away and kissed her softly on the lips. "Okay baby, we can talk tomorrow" he said as he stood up and held out his hand "let's go to bed".

Lulu grabbed his hand and got up off the couch. He led her over to the bed and pulled back the covers. "I'll be right back" Lulu said quickly as she rushed off to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and leaned up against it sliding down to the floor as she quietly sobbed. She chickened out again. She had to tell him that she couldn't marry him. That she wasn't strong enough to be a cop's wife or a mother to his children. That she broke once before after a traumatic experience and she was sure she would break again if something happened to him. She just wanted one more night in his arms before she broke his heart and her own. Before she told him that the future they dreamed of wasn't possible. Just one more night before it was all over.

Lulu picked herself up off the floor and went to the sink to splash some water on her face. She open the bathroom door and went out to climb into bed next to the man she loved more than she thought it was possible to love someone.

He looked at her with concern but knew better than to try to talk again. Instead he just pulled back the blanket and waited for her to climb in next to him. He put his arm around her and she curled into his side with her head on his chest careful to stay on the opposite side from his healing lung. They could talk tomorrow. Tonight he just wanted to hold her and enjoy being able to sleep next to the love of his life. He wanted to breathe her in and remember this moment. Something told him when they did finally talk, things would never be the same.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning Lulu woke to the sunlight streaming through the loft windows. She could feel Dante's eyes on her before she turned over to meet them.

"Morning Beautiful" whispered Dante before he kissed her softly. "How did you sleep?"

"Better than I have in six weeks" Lulu murmured back. She kissed him and before long the kisses deepened as she opened her mouth to allow his tongue entry. Things were starting to get out of control and she forced herself to pull away breathlessly "We should stop. How long did Dr. Webber say you should wait before resuming physical activities?" Dante gave an exasperated sigh and admitted "He said to wait at least one more week before any strenuous exercise, which includes sex"

"We should probably get out of this bed then before anything goes too far" as she noticed the tent forming under the covers "maybe you want to take a cold shower before breakfast". Dante groaned and got out of bed to make his way to the bathroom. As he was headed there his phone rang and he went to grab it off of the coffee table.

"Falconeri" he answered gruffly.

"Dante, it is me pal" Ronnie answered on the other end of the line "I got some info on your shooting that you need to hear asap. When can you get down here?"

"Now isn't really a good time Ronnie" Dante said glancing at Lulu who was watching him curiously. "Can't you just tell me over the phone?"

"No can do buddy. I need to show you this evidence in person, now get your ass down here" and with that, Ronnie hung up.

Dante put down his phone and steeled himself for the argument he knew he was about to have. He didn't want to make Lulu upset by going back to work so soon but he had to solve this case if they were ever going to move forward. He was sure once it was solved and the person who shot him was behind bars that she would feel less anxious about his job.

"What did Ronnie want so early?" Lulu asked as she sat up in bed.

"He has some information about my case, I need to go down to the station" Dante confessed.

"Dante, you can't be serious! You just got out of the hospital yesterday and you already want to go work on your case with Ronnie? It was bad enough that you were investigating at what was supposed to be a goodbye party for Kristina. You need to stay home to heal and rest. Let the other cops solve this one, just this once" Lulu pleaded.

"Baby it is no big deal. I'm just going down there to go over some evidence. I promise it is nothing strenuous. No field work. " Dante explained

Lulu was starting to get upset at the thought of Dante even setting foot into the PCPD so soon. She thought she would have more time before she had to worry about him at work but she should have known better. Of course Dante was going to dive right back into trying to solve any and every case.

"Dante, I'm asking you to please just let this go and let the other cops handle it."

"You know I can't do that. I have to find out who did this to me and why" Dante stated firmly. With that, he went to go shower and get ready while Lulu sat in the bed stunned at how their nice morning had turned so sour, so quickly.

Twenty minutes later, Dante came out all dressed and ready to go. Lulu couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze when he came over to kiss her goodbye. "I'll be home as soon as I can. We can have a nice dinner tonight and talk" he tried to reason with her. She just sat there stone faced without answering so he kissed her on the top of the head, grabbed his keys and left. Lulu felt the first of her tears fall down her cheek.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Lulu had herself a good cry and then decided she had to drag herself out of Dante's bed and face the day. She needed to head over to the Haunted Star to figure out what she was going to do with the place. If she was going to sell it then she had to clean it up and make it presentable to show potential buyers. At least that would hopefully distract her from worrying about Dante going back to work so soon. She showered and got dressed in jeans and a tank top since she would be spending most of the day cleaning.

When she arrived at the Haunted Star she found it even messier than she remembered from her last visit. "What the hell has Ethan been doing here?" she wondered. She decided to just dive right in and starting turning the tables and chairs right side up and picking up the poker chips from all over the floor. "I'm going to have to have a talk with him about cleaning up after his private card games". She heard a noise coming from the office in the back. "Ethan?" she called out. When she got no answer she decided to go investigate hoping it was Ethan or Tracy and not some intruder trying to steal the non-existent casino profits. As she peeked into the office she was shocked at who she found there. "Dad?"

Down at the PCPD, Dante had been going over the evidence from his shooting for hours with Ronnie. They didn't have much but they did manage to come up with a surveillance tape of the entrance that showed one unidentified person going in before Dante and one going in after. Either one of those people could be the shooter but it was too dark to tell who they were. He had been watching the footage over and over again to try and get some clue to find out who either person was. His mind wandered to Lulu, hoping she wasn't going to be too mad when he got home. He was sure she would come to understand why he had to solve the case so badly. He needed to bring to justice not only the person who shot him but the person who ruined what was going to be a beautiful night for the two of them and put their future in jeopardy. "Earth to Dante" Ronnie called out "where did you go pal?"

"I was just thinking about Lulu and that night she was going to answer my proposal" Dante answered. "I'm pretty sure she is having second thoughts about marrying me now".

"Why would you think that man? She clearly loves you. Nobody else would go after Corinthos like that on your behalf" Ronnie chuckled.

"Ever since the shooting, she has been distant" Dante admitted. "She is there but she isn't. She just hasn't been herself and I feel like I can't get through to her."

"She'll come around buddy. Maybe she just needs a little time to process everything." Ronnie advised.

Dante sighed "Maybe you are right man. I just keep hoping she will confide in me or snap out of it and be herself again. Sometimes it seems like she is coming out of it and then something will happen and she shuts off again."

"Hang in there pal, just give her some time" Ronnie said.

Back at the Haunted Star, Lulu was stunned and speechless to have come face to face with her father. They were standing there in silence, staring at each other.

"Hello cupcake" Luke finally spoke. "Did you miss your dear old dad?"

"Is that how you think this is going to go?" Lulu demanded. "You think you can just come in here and call me cupcake like nothing happened? Like you didn't run out on us and decide you were resigning as a father? Like you didn't break Lucky's heart, not once but TWICE? First when you ran over his child and then when you told him you never wanted this family! Like you didn't pretend to be going to rehab only to stay ten minutes and leave? Sorry dad, it isn't going to work like that this time. This wasn't some run of the mill con you went off to run. You told us you didn't want to be a family anymore so we moved on. You weren't here for any of us while we were going through hell these last few months. Lucky burned down the house and his wife died. I tried to follow you and make you come back and ended up almost getting raped at that seedy Bordello where you grew up. If Dante hadn't come after me, who knows what would have happened? Tracy has just been trying to move on with her life and Ethan has been left adrift with no direction. We don't need you waltzing back into our lives to cause even more chaos. I also have news for you – I own this place now and I don't want you here. Get out before I call the police to have you arrested for trespassing"

Luke was stunned by Lulu's tirade against him. Out of all of the members of his family, he expected her to be the easiest to win over again. Without a word, he grabbed his bag and walked out.

Lulu immediately sank down in a chair, shaking from anger. She was shocked at herself for speaking to her father like that and immediately felt guilty for behaving that way towards him. No matter what he did, he was still her father and she loved him. It was just so shocking to see him after all of these months. She had come to terms with the fact that he wouldn't be coming back after all of those things he said to Lucky.

She decided to leave the cleaning for another day. After the day she had, she needed to let loose and she knew just where she was going to go to do that.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lulu arrived to find Jake's fairly empty. She tossed her keys at Coleman and slapped a fifty dollar bill on the bar. "Bring me a bottle of Tequila and some limes"

"Hey there sweetness, want to tell Coleman what the trouble is?"

"I don't want to talk, I just want to drink." Lulu growled.

Coleman set the bottle, a shot glass and a plate of limes on the bar and Lulu set out to get drunk. Shot after shot she took one right after the other until she finally started to feel herself getting numb.

She didn't want to think about her dad showing up after all of these months to cause even more chaos in their lives or Lucky running off to Ireland to chase Siobhan's ghost.

Another shot.

She didn't want to think about how she quit her job and ran after her father only to wind up in danger with Dante having to ride to the rescue.

Another shot.

She didn't want to think about her brother Nik telling her he wished he had a choice on whether or not to give her his bone marrow and save her life.

Another shot.

She didn't want to think about her mom, all the way in Paris living her own life with no idea what had happened to the family she left behind.

Another shot.

She didn't want to think about how alone she was in the world and how even more alone she would be once she confessed to Dante that she couldn't marry him.

Another shot.

Finally the room started to get blurry. "Coleman? Did you know Dante wants to marry me? ME! Can you believe it?" she slurred. "It is toooo bad I'm not good enough for him. I can't be the kind of wife he should have. All good at cooking pasta and washing socks and not ready to go crazy at any minute and wind up in the nut house. He doesn't know I was in the nut house, just like my mom. He probably wouldn't want to marry me anyway if he did know that. Who wants to marry a crazy person?"

Another shot.

"Girl, do you think maybe you have had enough?" Coleman asked. "Want me to call someone to come on down here and pick you up?"

"No! I can't go home because Dante will be there all handsome and sexy and wonderful and handsome and that makes me sad because he is going to belong to someone else someday. "

Another shot.

Coleman went over the other side of the bar and picked up the phone. He called down to the PCPD and asked for Detective Falconeri.

"Falconeri" Dante answered.

"Dante it is Coleman down at Jake's. Your lady friend is down here and she is going to need a ride home. "

"Lulu is there?" Dante asked. "I have been texting and calling to tell her I would be late for dinner but she hasn't answered. I guess now I know why."

"Yeah she is pretty obliterated man. She is no shape to be texting, nevermind driving."

"I'll be right there" Dante hung up the phone and rushed out of the PCPD.

Back at the other end of the bar, a man had approached Lulu and started hitting on her. Lulu was ignoring him but he kept trying anyway. Finally she turned and said "Can you pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease go away? I have a fiancé and he is wonderful and only his cheesey pick-up lines work on me"

Discouraged, the guy finally gave up what he thought would have been a sure thing, given how drunk she was.

"You come here often?" she heard from behind her.

She quickly spun around and said "Look, I thought I told you to go…." She trailed off when she was looking into Dante's handsome face.

"Dante what are you doing here? I thought you were working at the PDPC. The PDPD. The PCPC. At work. I thought you were working at work"

"I was until I got a call that you might need a ride home. I always come when my girl needs me." He grinned at her. She was so adorable, even drunk.

"You are so wonderful. Why do you have to be so wonderful? Lulu slurred at him.

"Let's go home. Down we go" he said as he guided Lulu off of the bar stool. He grabbed her purse from the bar and held on to her as she stumbled towards the door. He took her out to his car and buckled her in to the passenger seat.

"I'm sorry I'm such a screw up all of the time. You should have a fiancé who isn't such a mess" and with that she passed out.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note:

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to thank you all for the nice reviews. As a first time writer, it means a lot to hear that anyone is enjoying the story. This next chapter is a bit longer than the last few. Once I got started with it I couldn't stop. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 5

Dante pulled into the parking lot and parked in his assigned spot. He got out and went around to open Lulu's door. "Baby, we're home" he said as he unbuckled her seatbelt. Lulu woke up groggy and still very drunk "How did we get here?"

"I picked you up at Jake's. Let's get inside and get you to bed"

Dante helped Lulu out of the car and supported most of her weight as she stumbled towards the door of Dante's building. They got in the elevator and road up to Dante's floor in silence, Lulu swaying back and forth. Once the doors opened into the apartment, Dante ushered Lulu inside and helped her sit on the couch. He went about taking her shoes off to start to get her ready for bed. "What made you go out and get so drunk tonight Lu?" Dante questioned as he slipped off her shoes and tossed them aside.

"I just wanted to forget" Lulu slurred.

"Forget what, did something happen?"

"Did something happen? Are you serious right now? You almost DIED a few weeks ago. Dead. Dunzo. No more Dante. I was waiting here in my stupid opera dress while you were bleeding all over the floor"

"Baby" started Dante.

"You know who else is dead?" Lulu drunkenly continued "Logan. He tried to kill me and I stabbed him and then I went crazy. That's what will happen if you die Dante. I will go crazy and end up back in Shadybrook. I'm weak. Shhhhhh, I wasn't supposed to tell you that though. Now you won't want to marry me anymore. Who wants to marry a crazy person? And you are so handsome and wonderful and sexy and handsome. You could find someone else that isn't crazy to marry you"

Dante sat there stunned wondering what Lulu was talking about. Who was Logan? When was she in Shadybrook? Was this just drunk ramblings or could it be true? Before he could question Lulu, she passed out again and started to snore softly. He decided to wait until morning to get to the bottom of this. He laid Lulu out on the couch and put a blanket over her. After he was sure she would be comfortable, he sat and watched her peaceful face as she slept. Could this be true? Had she killed someone? What else did he not know about his fiancée? It was going to be a long night.

The next morning Lulu awoke on the couch confused and with a pounding headache. She slowly opened her eyes and found Dante sitting in the chair watching her.

"What happened?" Lulu asked groggily.

"Coleman called me to pick you up at Jake's, you drank too much and needed a ride. Let me get you some water and aspirin" Dante went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water and the bottle of aspirin. He returned to the chair and handed Lulu the bottle of water, opened the aspirin, shook out two pills and handed them to her. "Take these."

Lulu took the aspirin and gulped down some water. Dante was still staring at her intently. "Dante, why are you looking at me like that? Did something happen last night?"

"Lulu" Dante started "I don't even know where to begin with this so I will just cut right to the chase. When you were drunk last night you said some things."

Lulu started to panic. What could she have said? How bad is this?

"Um, what did I say?" Lulu asked quietly.

"You talked about someone name Logan who you killed in self defense and said that you were in Shadybrook. This can't be true, right? You were just drunk and rambling. You wouldn't keep something this huge from me, right?"

Lulu looked down at her hands and Dante knew the answer before she said a word. She was telling the truth last night.

"I don't know what to say" Lulu said as she started to cry.

"Why don't you start from the beginning and tell me what happened. Who is Logan?" Dante questioned gently.

Lulu took a deep breath and tried to pull herself together. She knew that Dante had a right to know this stuff about her past but she was so ashamed. She was sure he wouldn't see her the same way once he heard this story.

Lulu took another deep breath and started her story. "A few years ago, I dated a guy named Logan. He was cute and complicated and we were happy together. Until I found out he had made a bet with Maxie that he could sleep with me. I ran out on him as soon as I found out and that's when I met Johnny. I was hitchhiking and he picked me up. Johnny and I eventually fell in love but Logan wanted me back. He was furious that I had chosen someone else and he thought it was all Maxie's fault for setting up the bet. One night I was in Johnny's apartment that overlooked the Crimson offices and I saw Logan in there attacking Maxie. I was frozen in fear and he saw me looking out the window at them. He left Crimson and came to Johnny's apartment. I tried to call Lucky but he didn't answer and Logan suddenly took an axe to the door to get it open. I picked up the first thing I could find to defend myself. " Lulu had tears running down her face and she still couldn't look at Dante as she told the story. "He came after me and I was on the floor. He ran right into the knife. I just wanted to keep him away from me and he ran right into the knife." Lulu sobbed.

Dante grabbed her hand and squeezed. "Lulu you were just trying to save your own life. You did what you had to do to live. Why did you feel like you couldn't tell me this?"

Lulu tried to take a few more deep breaths so she could continue. "Johnny and Maxie came running in right after. They knew that it would look bad that Logan died in Johnny – a mobster's apartment and that nobody would believe it was an accident. They decided to cover it up. I was in shock and too stunned to say no and not let them get involved. Johnny and I went on the run for a few months. We lived in New York City and he gave piano lessons. I couldn't get over what had happened and the guilt was eating me up. I started to see Logan everywhere. Eventually Johnny realized that I needed help and he brought me back to Port Charles and admitted me into Shadybrook. He was arrested for Logan's murder and that was another thing for me to feel guilty about. He was willing to get the death penalty so I didn't have to face the consequences of my actions. I tried to confess on the stand during the trial but nobody believed me. Everyone thought I was just crazy and trying to protect Johnny. Eventually Claudia figured out a way to get him out of the charges. Things were never the same with Johnny after that. He saw me as fragile and treated me like I could break at any second. I don't really blame him for that. Eventually he started fooling around with Maxie and broke my heart." Lulu was still unable to look Dante in the eye as she continued "I know I should have told you this about me but I didn't want you to look at me like Johnny looked at me. Like I needed to be managed and protected. I never felt like his equal after that."

Lulu finished her story and tentatively looked up at Dante. He sat there completely stunned at her story. He had known her for two years and didn't know anything about this huge part of her life. He had no idea what to say to her.

"Lulu, this is a lot of information to take in. Would it be okay if I took a walk and we finished talking later?"

Lulu had no choice but to nod that it was okay. Dante quickly picked up his keys and walked out. As the door closed behind him, Lulu started to sob again, knowing she had lost him for good this time. She cried herself to sleep on the couch and woke up hours later. Dante still had not come home. She dragged herself off of the couch and into the bathroom. She forced herself to take a shower and get dressed. She packed up her toiletries and some clothes she kept at the loft and left Dante a note telling him she wanted to give him some space and would be back at her place. She took one last look at the loft where they had spent so many happy hours and wondered if she would ever see the inside of it again. She left Dante's building and walked back to Jake's to pick up her car. After she dropped off her car and her bag at her apartment, she decided to take a walk down to the docks and try to clear her head. She sat down on the bench, their bench, where they had had so many talks while they were getting to know each other. This was where he first told her about Mr. Poletti and where she found out he was a cop. This was where he kissed her and told her she was something special.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Sonny's voice "Lulu are you alright?"

Sonny was standing in front of her with a concerned look on his face. She hadn't even heard him walk up and she must look awful from all of the crying she had done today.

Lulu tried to manage a weak smile "I'm okay" she said shakily.

"Well I'm not sure I believe that." Sonny sat down next to her. "Lulu, you and I used to be close. I have been friends with your father for many years. I have much respect for your mother. I know you don't like me and if I could take back what I did to Dante, I would."

Lulu sat there in silence.

"I also want to apologize for what I said to you at Crimson about marrying Dante. That is between you and Dante to figure out and I should never have compared your situation to what happened with me and Brenda."

"Well Sonny" Lulu finally spoke, "It appears my relationship with Dante won't be an issue any longer. I got drunk last night and accidentally told him about Logan and Shadybrook. I tried to explain the whole story to him this morning but he left and didn't come back."

"Maybe he just needed some time to process everything." Sonny tried to reassure her.

Lulu just sighed and stared out at the water.

"Lulu, do you love Dante?"

"Of course I do! How can you even ask me that? I love him more than I ever thought it was possible to love another person." Lulu stated firmly.

"Then you have to do whatever it takes. Do whatever you have to do to make it work. Don't let your fear take something great from you. Brenda and I just gave up. Neither one of us was willing to change or compromise so in the end we ended up alone. Our stubbornness robbed us of a beautiful and happy life together. I don't want to see that happen to you and Dante. He loves you so much and I'm sure once he has had some time to think about everything you said, he will be ready to talk things out." With that, Sonny got up and left Lulu on the docks with her thoughts.

Lulu contemplated what Sonny had said. As scared as she was about getting married, she didn't want to think about a life without Dante in it. She knew exactly what she had to do.

Dante had been walking around for hours and found himself knocking on his mom's door. She knew as soon as she saw his face that something was very wrong. She ushered him inside and led him to the couch to sit.

"Honey what's wrong?" she cut right to the chase.

Dante sighed. "Lulu and I are having some problems" He admitted.

"Why don't you tell me about it? Maybe I can help." She said as she ruffled his hair.

"Lulu had a few too many drinks last night at Jake's so I went to pick her up. When we got home she confessed a few things about her past that I didn't know. I don't want to betray her confidence and get into details but it was very shocking information."

"Dante, everyone has things in their past that they aren't proud of. You had a secret past with Brenda that never would have come out if she hadn't shown up in town. It doesn't make you a bad person."

"I could never think that Lulu is a bad person. That's not what this is about. I love her more than anything. I'm just not sure if she is ever going to fully let me in. She has had so much heartache in her life. She has never been able to trust that love can last and that not everyone leaves." Dante explained.

"Then you need to prove to her over and over that you will be there and that she can trust you. Eventually, she will come to understand that this is for keeps and that you aren't like the rest of the people in her life that left her." Olivia advised.

"I guess running out on her like I did this morning probably isn't going to help my cause" Dante realized.

"No honey, probably not. You need to get back there and talk things out."

"You are right ma, I gotta go. Thanks for hearing me out" Dante said as he rushed out the door. He had to get home and make things right with Lulu.

Dante burst into the loft calling Lulu's name. He found it empty. He checked the bathroom and found her toiletries missing. He came back out to the living room and found her note on the table.

Dear Dante,

I'm so very sorry for everything. I'm going back to my place to give you some time and space to think.

I love you,

Lulu

Dante sat on the couch with a heavy heart. He hoped he wasn't too late. He picked up his phone and dialed Lulu's number. Her voice mail immediately picked up. At the tone he left a message "Baby, it's me. I'm so sorry for leaving like I did this morning. I was just so shocked and I didn't know what to say. It is no excuse for running out like I did. Please call me back so we can talk. I love you."

Dante hung up the phone and tried to figure out what to do next. Should he go to her apartment? Would she even want to see him? Minutes later his phone beeped with a text message from Lulu.

Dante – Meet me at the Haunted Start at 9:30 so we can talk.

Dante immediately texted back that he would be there and that he loved her. He wondered why she wanted to meet at the Haunted Star instead of talking at the loft or her apartment. He checked his watch. Only 7:00pm. He didn't know how he was going to make it through these next couple of hours.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note:

Thank you all again for the nice comments on the story. Fair warning this chapter is R rated towards the end.

Chapter 6

At 8:45pm, Lulu was frantically rushing around the Haunted Star getting ready for Dante's arrival. She stood back to survey her work. She had set up candles all around on the gaming tables and bar. A bottle of their favorite champagne was chilling in an ice bucket. There were flowers everywhere around the room. It looked like a romantic dream. She had just enough time to go get dressed and do her make-up in the stateroom out back. Lulu showered in the small bathroom attached to the stateroom and then carefully blow-dried her hair in soft waves. Next she took out her make-up bag and made up her face into a sexy evening look. She put on the special white lace lingerie she had purchased that afternoon to go under the short, white cocktail dress with the rhinestones under the bust and ruffles falling to just about her knee. It was sexy and sweet all at the same time. Once she was dressed she realized it was already 9:20pm and set about lighting all of the candles.

At 9:10pm, Dante grabbed his keys and left the loft to head over to the Haunted Star. He felt a little nervous wondering how this evening was going to go. About halfway to the Haunted Star, he noticed the wheel of his car was making a funny noise. He pulled over on the shoulder and got out of the car to take a look. The front driver's side tire was completely flat. There was no way this car was going to make it all the way to the Star. Dante started to get anxious once he realized that he had recently used his spare and hadn't replaced it. By the time a tow truck came, he would be really late to meet Lulu. He reached into his pocket to get his cell phone out to call the tow truck and then he realized he had left it on the coffee table at the loft. This was bad. Really bad. He couldn't be late to meet Lulu on such an important night. Not after what happened last time he was supposed to be somewhere and didn't show up. He checked his watch, it was already 9:25pm. Dante had no choice, he took off running towards the Haunted Star.

At 9:30pm, Lulu was standing in the middle of the Haunted Star waiting for Dante. The candles were all lit up. She had soft music playing. She had gotten his mom to make his favorite Italian dish and dinner was set up on a beautiful table. Now all she had to do was wait. She looked at her watch. 9:35pm.

Dante was running as fast as he could to get to the Haunted Star. He was still a couple of miles away and he was starting to sweat. His lungs felt like they were on fire but he had to keep going. He checked his watch. It was already 9:45.

At 9:50pm, Lulu was getting really worried. She tried calling Dante's phone but it rang a few times and went to voice mail. It was starting to feel like the last time all over again. She was trying really hard not to panic but she couldn't help it. She started pacing back and forth in front of the door.

At 10:15pm, Lulu sat down at the table she had set up and started to cry. Just then Dante came running into the room completely sweat soaked and out of breathe. "Lulu" he wheezed out "I'm so sorry, I had a flat tire and I left my phone at home so I couldn't call you or get a tow truck." Lulu got up and ran to Dante and threw herself into his arms, hugging him as tightly as she could, not caring that he was dripping in sweat from his long run to get here. "I'm so happy you are okay" she said into his sweaty neck. Lulu helped him into a chair "You shouldn't have run all that way! You just got out of the hospital and are missing half of your lung!"

He was finally catching his breath and noticed all of the candles all around the room and then the beautiful dinner table. "You did all of this?" he asked.

"I just wanted to do something to show you how much I love you." Lulu confessed. "Are you okay? Should we get you to the hospital?"

"I'm fine, I promise. Do you mind if I go freshen up a little? It was a long jog here" Dante winked at her.

"Of course" Lulu said and directed him to the stateroom and adjoining bathroom out back.

Dante went in and washed his face and freshened up. He couldn't believe Lulu had set all of this up for them after the way he behaved this morning. He was determined to lay everything out on the table tonight and move forward.

Lulu sat at the table nervously waiting for Dante to return. She was worried about his health. It couldn't have been good for him to run all of that way after just having lost half his lung. Maybe she should insist on taking him to the hospital to just get checked out.

Dante came out of the back room all refreshed and ready for dinner. His lungs had stopped burning and now he was ready to enjoy dinner with the love of his life.

"Dante are you sure you are okay? I really think we should go to GH and get you checked out, just in case." Lulu pleaded.

"Lulu, I'm fine. Really! I just want to enjoy this nice evening with you and not let anything get in the way" Dante said as he joined her at the table.

"If you start to feel any pain or anything you promise you will tell me so I can get you to the hospital?" Lulu asked, looking at him with concerned eyes.

"I promise I will let you know at the first sign of any pain" Dante assured her. "Now let's enjoy this wonderful evening you set up for us. You look so beautiful."

Dante popped open the champagne and poured them both a glass. He raised his to make a toast "To us, I know we have some things to work out but no matter what happened in our pasts and what happens in our future, I know we can get through anything because of how much we love each other."

Lulu clinked glasses with him and had tears welling in her eyes. "Dante, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you about Logan and Shadybrook before. I wanted to but I knew as soon as you knew about it, you would see me differently. I want you to think I'm strong but now you know the truth. This is why I have been hesitant to announce the proposal. What if we get married and something happens to you again? What if we have kids and I can't take care of them because I'm broken? I don't want our kids to have the kind of life I had. No dad around and a mom in a mental institution. You deserve someone that isn't going to fall apart."

"Lulu, you are strong. I know you are strong. I have seen your strength many times over these last two years. Your strength got me through so much that I don't know how I would have survived without you by my side. Who was there to pick me up when I found out Sonny was my father and my mother had lied to me my whole life? Who stood by my side against everyone when I turned Michael in? Who came and supported me when Michael's rape came out, even though we were broken up over my stupidity at the time? You did all of that Lulu. You are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for." Dante finished.

"I love you Dante. More than I ever thought it was possible to love another person. I want more than anything to have a life with you and be with you until we are old and grey. I'm just scared. I have never seen love last and I have never had anyone in my life that hasn't eventually left me."

Dante reached across the table and grabbed Lulu's hand. "Baby, you can't live your life worrying about what might happen or what could happen. I can't promise you that nothing bad is ever going to happen to either one of us. I can promise that I will love you every single day I'm on this earth. Please let me love you the way you deserve to be loved."

"I want to. You don't know how bad I want to." Lulu sighed.

"Then just let go and take a leap of faith with me. Let's be happy now and have faith that whatever tomorrow brings, we can get through it together." Dante pleaded.

"Dante, I promise that I will try my very best to let it all go and be happy with you. I love you and I don't want my fears to rob me of the best things that ever happened to me." Lulu declared.

"So she finally admits it! I'm the best thing that ever happened to her!" Dante teased as Lulu chuckled. His face turning serious "Lulu you don't know how happy this makes me. We just need to be honest with each other about how we are feeling. If you are worried, I want to know about it. If you are sad or scared, I want you to tell me. You don't have to go through anything alone. I'm here for you always."

Dante got up and pulled Lulu into a soft kiss. "Did you bring the ring with you?"

Lulu picked up her small clutch from the table, pulled the ring out and gave it to Dante.

"I'm going to give this another try and I'm hoping that the ring will stay on this time." Dante got down on one knee. "Lesley Lu Spencer, you are the love of my life and the reason my heart beats. Nothing would make me happier than if you would marry me"

Lulu didn't hesitate. This time she knew exactly what to say. "Yes, I will marry you Dante. I can't wait to be your wife."

Dante got up from his knee and slid the ring on Lulu's finger and drew her into a passionate kiss. He pulled away "I love you, soon to be Mrs. Falconeri"

"I love you too, so much" Lulu said as she drew him into another kiss. The kissing grew more intense as Lulu opened her mouth to allow Dante's tongue entry. He tightened his arms around her and drew her in even closer. Lulu could feel him hardening against her and suddenly came to her senses and pulled away. "Dante we can't do this! You aren't fully recovered yet."

"Baby, I ran all the way here and I'm fine. I promise you that I will be okay if we have sex. I can't wait anymore to be with you. We haven't been together in three months between the break-up and then my hospital stay."

Lulu wanted more than anything to believe him. She missed being with him like that so much. "Let's finish dinner and then we'll see". She hoped after dinner she would be able to resist him. Dante grudgingly agreed and sat back down at the table. They ate their delicious dinner that Olivia prepared and talked about inconsequential things. All Lulu could think about the entire time was how badly she wanted to rip Dante's clothes off right at the table. After dinner, they cleaned up together and blew out all of the candles. Lulu reached for Dante's hand "Let's go home" she said and pulled him out of the Haunted Star and towards her car.

As Lulu drove them to the loft, Dante's hand wandered over to Lulu's bare leg, rubbing up and down her thigh. In the elevator up to Dante's place, he pressed Lulu up against the wall and started kissing her neck. She sighed and closed her eyes, getting lost in him again. The doors opened and he pulled her into the living room to resume their activities.

"Dante stop!" Lulu said as Dante groaned and reluctantly pulled away. "I want to be with you more than anything tonight but if we are going to do this, we have to do it my way"

"Baby, I will do anything you say as long as I get to be with you tonight." Dante would have agreed to just about anything at that point, he wanted her so badly.

Lulu took a deep breath and laid out the conditions "Ok, here are the ground rules. I do all of the work. You are not to exert yourself AT ALL. If you feel ANY pain, even a slight little feeling that pain might be coming, you have to promise to stop immediately."

Dante didn't even have to think "I promise. You do all of the work and if I feel any pain at all, we will stop."

Lulu took Dante's hand and led him over to the bed. She slowly and carefully removed his shirt. She inhaled sharply when she saw the scar that had been left behind by his latest brush with death. Tears filling her eyes, she placed a gentle kiss on the wound. She pulled herself together and went for the button on his pants. Dante wanted more than anything to rip her dress off and have his way with her but he made a promise to do things her way and he intended to keep it. She slowly slid the zipper down as Dante tried to keep his breathing steady. She pulled his pants down and stopped once she got to his feet to pull off his socks and shoes. She pulled his pants off and stood up, stopping on the way back up to place a gentle kiss on the bulge in Dante's boxer briefs. "Lay down on the bed" Lulu told Dante and he obeyed. He watched as she slowly unzipped her dress and let it fall to the floor. He was in awe of how beautiful she looked in her white lace lingerie. She climbed on the bed with him and crawled up to straddled Dante. She could feel his bulge pressing into her center through their underwear as she slowly rocked back and forth. She leaned down, careful not to lean her weight on his chest and started kissing first his lips, then down his chin to his neck and then down his chest as she scooted back. She kissed and licked his stomach down the waistband of his boxer briefs and then kissed his bulge through the fabric. She sat up and slowly pulled his underwear off, revealing his large cock standing at attention. She tossed the underwear on the floor and wrapped her hand around him, stroking up and down. She leaned down and licked the tip as Dante moaned at the feel of her mouth on him.

"Baby that feels amazing" he bit out, trying to keep control. Lulu took him in her mouth inch by inch until she couldn't take anymore and then started bobbing her head up and down in his lap.

After a few minutes, Dante couldn't take anymore. "Baby you have to stop. I'm going to cum and I want to cum inside you. It has been too long". Lulu pulled back giving his cock one last kiss and sat up. She reached behind her to unclasp her bra and took it off. She took Dante's hands in hers and brought them to her breasts. He pinched and squeezed as her nipples hardened. Then she took one of his hands and slid it inside her underwear. She was so wet as his fingers easily slid in and out of her as she bit her lip. Deciding she couldn't wait any longer she pulled his hand out of her and tugged her underwear off. She straddled Dante again and rubbed her wet center along his shaft, teasing him.

"Baby please don't make me wait anymore" Dante begged. She grabbed his cock in her hand and placed it at her opening. She slowly slid down feeling his thick cock spread her open inch by inch. When he was full seated inside of her they both sighed in contentment. It felt so good to be joined this way after all of this time. Lulu slowly started to ride him as they stared into each other's eyes. Dante's hands moved to her hips trying to urge her to go faster. She couldn't resist anymore and started bobbing up and down on him quickly, knowing he was getting closer to release. He took one his hands off of her hip and started to twirl her clit, wanting her to come with him. Lulu was moaning in pleasure and grabbing her breasts and pinching her nipples while she road him. One last twirl of her clit sent her over the edge and Dante was in awe of how beautiful she looked coming undone. He couldn't hold out any longer and he came hard inside her. She collapsed over to one side of him so as not to lean on his healing lung and buried her face in his neck breathing hard.

"I missed that so much" she said she kissed his neck softly and then up his chin to his lips.

"Me too, more than you could know. I dreamt about this every night I was in the hospital."

Lulu lifted herself off of Dante as he slipped out of her and snuggled in to his side. "Do you feel okay? No pain in your chest?"

"I have never felt better in my whole entire life" Dante assure her as he drew her in even closer. He picked up her left hand and drew it to his lips to kiss the engagement ring she was finally wearing. "I love you"

"I love you too Dante. " Lulu said as she drifted into a contented sleep. Dante watched her sleep peacefully for a few minutes, amazed at how lucky he was to have her in his life. He would get to make love to this beautiful woman for the rest of his life. He soon followed her into a peaceful sleep, dreaming of the beautiful life they were going to share.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next morning, Lulu woke up first and decided to get up and take a shower while Dante slept in. She quietly slipped out of bed and went in to the bathroom, leaving the door slightly open. She got into the shower and turned on the hot water. She washed her hair and conditioned and then set about washing her body with a loofah. Suddenly the door to the shower opened and Dante stepped in. "You left me all alone in the bed" he pouted as his hands started groping her.

"I wanted to let you sleep, I was afraid we overdid it last night" Lulu explained.

"I feel fine today Lulu, better than ever." He assured her as his hands slip up to her breasts, pinching and squeezing. Knowing if she didn't get control of the situation soon, that Dante would pick her up and fuck her against the wall, which wouldn't be good for his healing lung, she pulled away and grabbed the shampoo. "Let me clean you up" she said as she squirted the shampoo in her hands and reached for Dante's hair. She washed his hair and then reached for the loofah to wash his body. She carefully scrubbed him down from head to toe, spending some extra time on his groin area. Dante moaned in pleasure as she fondled him there.

"Let's get out, the water is getting cold," she said finally after they were both squeaky clean. She shut off the water and led Dante out of the shower. She wrapped herself in a towel and then grabbed another one and set about drying Dante off. She started with his back and shoulders, moving down to his tight ass, carefully drying each cheek. She then did the backs of his legs and moved around to his front. She dried off his chest and moved the towel down to his stomach and then his muscular thighs and down to his feet. She saved her favorite part of him for last. She took the towel and gently dried his groin area, his hard cock twitching at her touch.

"Lulu, I need to be inside of you again." Dante bit out as he grabbed her hand and led her back to the bedroom. He took her towel off and tossed it on the floor and then pushed her back onto the bed.

"Dante, what about your recovery?" Lulu tried to protest, all the while anticipating his hard cock sliding inside her again.

"Sex with you is the best thing for my recovery" Dante convinced her. She couldn't resist anymore and spread her legs open for him as he climbed on top of her. He kissed her passionately, pushing his tongue into her mouth as his hard cock nudged her opening. He slid inside her in one hard thrust and she screamed out in pleasure. He filled her so completely and was inside her so deep. He slowly pulled out so just the tip was inside and then slammed into her again. "Oh god Dante yes!" Lulu exclaimed as he started pounding into her over and over. She lifted her legs up and wrapped them around his waist, grinding herself on him. Before long she could feel herself coming hard. He watched as she came down from her intense orgasm and kept slowly pumping into her. Once she had settled, he pulled out and told her to flip over. She did as he asked and he pulled her up on her knees, sliding back into her from behind. He reached around to roughly grab her breasts as he pounded into her from behind. She fell forward from the force of his thrusts and he pushed her hips into the bed, grinding against her. She loved the feel of him against her back, sliding in and out at a frantic pace. He reached around and started playing with her clit and she instantly came hard. He followed right behind her with one final hard thrust, collapsing over her. They stayed like that for several minutes his cock twitching inside her, his hands caressing her body. Once they started breathing normally again, Dante rolled off of her and cuddled her to him.

"That was amazing" Lulu sighed happily as she lazily ran her hand up and down his chest. "I missed being with you like that. Having this connection."

"Me too, I'm so happy to have you back in my arms where you belong" Dante said. "Now on to important matters, when do you want to tell the family about the engagement?" he tentatively asked. This would be the real test to see if she was ready to move forward.

"Let's invite everyone to the Haunted Start tonight and tell them all together." Lulu suggested.

Dante breathed a sigh of relief that she wanted to tell everyone. "That sounds like a fantastic idea. I'll call my ma, Michael and Sonny. It is too bad Lucky and Luke are out of town but you should call Ethan, Tracy and Maxie."

Lulu suddenly remembered that she never told Dante about her run-in with Luke. "Actually, I saw my dad the other day, before I went to Jake's. He is back in town. It didn't go very well."

"I'm sorry, do you want to tell me what happened?" Dante asked as he squeezed Lulu tighter.

"I said some awful things to him. I wouldn't be surprised if he never speaks to me again."

"I'm sure your dad knows that you love him Lulu. You have every right to be upset with him after everything that happened." Dante assured her.

"I don't want to talk about my dad anymore. Today is supposed to be a happy day. We are finally going to announce that we are getting married. Let's go shower again and start planning for tonight." Lulu got up out of bed, grabbed Dante's hand and led him into the bathroom.

Later that evening, Lulu and Dante were at the Haunted Star waiting for their friends and family to show up. They had two bottles of champagne on ice, ready to be opened once the good news was shared. "You look so handsome in that suit" Lulu complimented Dante.

"Why thank you baby" Dante said as he leaned in to kiss her. "You look gorgeous as always" he said as he kissed her again.

The first to arrive was Olivia who came in with her boyfriend Dr. Steven Webber. She rushed up to give them both a hug. "I'm so happy you two kids are finally ready to share your news" she gushed.

"Thanks ma" Dante said as he hugged her back.

"Yes, thank you for keeping it a secret for us. I know that was difficult." Lulu said.

Next Maxie arrived with her boyfriend, Dr. Matt Hunter. Matt and Steve shook hands as Maxie went over to Dante and Lulu to pepper them with questions. "What's this about? Is it good news or bad news?"

"Maxie, just wait until everyone gets here and we will tell everyone at once." Lulu told her.

"Humph" Maxie huffed as she stalked over to the bar to get a drink.

Sonny, Kate, Michael and Abby all arrived next. Sonny awkwardly greeted Dante and Lulu and thanked them for inviting him. Michael came up and gave them both a hug.

Tracy breezed in next with Edward and Monica in tow. The Quartermaines had been part of Lulu's life for a long time and she thought it was important for them to share this news. Ethan was the last guest to arrive and finally they were ready to get started.

Dante clinked his glass to get everyone's attention. "Thank you all for coming tonight on such short notice. We have some news we want to share with all of you and we hope you will be happy for us." He looked at Lulu "Do you want to tell them Lu?"

A wide grin spread out on Lulu's face and she took her left hand out from behind her back. "We are getting married!"

The group erupted into cheers and congratulations for the happy couple. Everyone rushed up to hug them and look at Lulu's ring. After everyone had gotten their turn with the bride and groom to be, the champagne was served.

Dante lifted his glass to make a toast. "I feel like the luckiest man alive that this beautiful, smart and funny woman agreed to be my wife." He said as he looked lovingly at Lulu. "We also couldn't be luckier to have such great family and friends to share this news with. Cheers!"

Everyone clinked glasses and sipped the champagne. Hors d'oeuvres were served and the guests started mingling.

Sonny came up to Lulu and gave her a hug. "I'm happy you decided to follow your heart Lulu. I hope you and my son will be very happy together."

Surprised Lulu didn't know what to say. "Thanks Sonny" she finally spit out as he was shaking Dante's hand in congratulations.

Lulu and Dante shared a look of confusion as Sonny went off to the bar. "He was unusually supportive" Dante said.

Before Lulu had time to tell Dante what happened on the docks, Maxie walked up.

"So have you picked a date? Where is it going to be? What are your colors? Are you going to wear your hair up or down?" Maxie questioned.

"Maxie take a breath. We haven't planned a single thing. I would like to ask you if you would be my Maid of Honor." Lulu said.

"Of course I'm going to be your Maid of Honor. Who else would it be?" Maxie said.

Lulu laughed as Maxie flitted off to find Matt.

"Who is going to be your best man?" Lulu asked.

"I was thinking about asking Michael. I know he and I have our differences but he is my brother"

"I think that is a great idea, do you want to ask him tonight?"

"Sure, let's bring him over."

Lulu gestured Michael over to wear they were standing near the bar.

"Michael, I have something to ask you. You can feel free to say no if you don't want to do it." Dante rambled. Michael looked at him confused.

"Will you be my Best Man at the wedding?" Dante finally asked.

"Of course I will Dante, you are my brother" Michael agreed.

The brothers hugged and then Michael hugged Lulu. "I'm really happy for you guys. You put up with me sleeping on the couch all of those months, you deserve some happiness." Michael joked. "Seriously though, I couldn't be happier for you."

After Michael had walked away, Dante breathed a sigh of relief. "Well now that that's settled, we have to pick a date and a place"

Lulu thought about it for a minute. "How about New Year's Eve? It will be just after the two year anniversary of our first date to the Opera."

"That's very soon, are you sure that's enough time to plan the wedding you want?" Dante questioned, hoping she would say it was.

"Dante, I don't want to wait any longer to start our lives together as a married couple. I don't need a big, huge wedding. I just want to marry you." She said as she kissed him softly.

"I was hoping you would say that. I can't wait to be your husband." Dante whispered against her lips and kissed her again.

They were interrupted by Edward "I'm very happy for you Lulu, if this guy makes you happy." He turned to Dante "If you hurt her, I will send Alice after you and I guarantee that you won't be able to walk upright after she is finished"

After Edward walked away, Dante and Lulu looked at each other and laughed. "I guess that is Edward's seal of approval" Lulu chuckled.

The party started winding down and the guests were coming up one by one to say goodbye. After everyone had left, Dante switched the sound system from smooth jazz to a song from his iPod that he knew Lulu would love. "Let's dance," he said as he held out his hand to her. Strains of Garth Brook's "To Make You Feel My Love" started playing and Dante led Lulu out to the middle of the casino floor to dance. He wrapped an arm around her and clasped her hand to his chest as she buried her face in his neck and they swayed to the music.

"Tonight was a perfect night." Lulu sighed.

"It was perfect." Dante agreed.

They swayed to the music, enjoying being in each other's arms until they heard the door to the Haunted Star open and close.

Dante looked up as Luke Spencer had entered the room.

"Looks like I missed a party" Luke said.

Lulu lifted her head from Dante's should and turned around.

"Dad, what are you doing here?"

"I ran into Tracy on the docks and she said you had some news to share. So, out with it" Luke demanded.

Dante's arm tightened around Lulu's waist, letting her know that he was there to support her.

"Dante and I are engaged. We announced the news to our family and friends tonight" Lulu told him. "I hope you will be happy for us. If you can't be happy for us, then I'm going to have to ask you to keep it to yourself. I love Dante and I want to spend the rest of my life with him. Nothing you say will change that."

"You are an adult cupcake, if you want to marry this….cop and live a life of heartache, that's up to you" Luke didn't hide his disdain for Dante.

"Dad, that's enough. Dante deserves your respect."

"Lulu, you don't have to" Dante started but Lulu just continued on.

"He has been here for me when you certainly weren't. He loves me and I love him. There is nothing else to say about it."

With that Lulu decided it was time to go. "Enjoy your last night here at the Haunted Star dad, tomorrow I'm changing the locks and installing a security system."

Lulu grabbed Dante's hand and pulled him out of the casino. "Let's go home"

Once they were outside, Dante stopped and Lulu turned.

"Are you okay? That can't have been easy for you" Dante asked, his concern evident.

"Dante, I love my dad but if he can't support us and let me be happy, then I can't have anything to do with him." Lulu stated firmly. "I need to start doing what's best for me instead of worrying about the rest of the family's reaction."

Dante pulled Lulu into a tight embrace. "I'm so proud of you Lu."

Lulu grinned up at him and kissed him. "Good. Now let's go home and continue making up for lost time"

Dante quickly ushered her to the car and opened the passenger door for her. Once she was settled inside, he ran around to the driver's side, hopped in and sped off towards the loft.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's note:

Hi Everyone! Thanks again for all the kind reviews. I'm not as happy with this chapter as I would like but I'm posting it anyway because I want to move on to writing the next one. Please read and review!

Chapter 8

A few weeks later wedding plans were in full swing. They had decided to have the wedding at the Haunted Star since Lulu owned it. Maxie helped Lulu picked out a beautiful dress that she hoped Dante would love. They decided to keep the wedding party small with just Michael and Maxie. Lulu had called Lucky, left messages, emailed and texted but so far he hadn't responded to her news. He was still off trying to find himself in Ireland. Unfortunately, it looked like the turnout on Lulu's side of the family was going to be pretty low. Nik wasn't returning calls or emails. Laura had taken a turn for the worse and couldn't travel. Luke hadn't been seen since they had told him about the engagement. She only had Tracy and Ethan. Dante worried that she would regret getting married without her family present but Lulu insisted on forging ahead with the plans. She didn't want to put her life on hold for one more minute because her family couldn't support her. Dante's family on the other hand was going to make up most of the guest list. Kristina and Morgan were coming home from school for the event. All of Dante's uncles, aunts and cousins were coming from Bensonhurst. His Nona was so excited to finally meet the girl who had tamed her wild grandson.

In the midst of all of the wedding planning, Lulu officially moved in to the loft. She didn't bring much with her since most of the furniture at her apartment belonged to Maxie. Ethan and Dante helped her move all of her clothes and personal items one Saturday afternoon. They were still trying to figure out where they were going to put everything since the loft had minimal closet space and only the one dresser. Dante couldn't have been happier to be tripping over her heels on the floor and having to dig through her fifteen different kinds of lotion in the bathroom just to find his deodorant. He loved having their things intermingled together. The only dark cloud over their otherwise blissful life was Dante being back at work. Lulu had been trying very hard to keep her fears in check and not panic when she kissed him goodbye in the morning. She was always so relieved when he would walk in the door at night. He was very attentive about sending her text updates during the day just to let her know he was okay. If he had to go dark for awhile to work on a case, he let her know beforehand and then made sure to call her right after.

One evening, a couple of weeks before the wedding, Dante came home to find Lulu asleep on the couch surrounded by pictures of flower arrangements, sample menus and color swatches. He stopped to watch her sleep for a moment and marvel at how beautiful she looked. He leaned down to kiss her temple and she started to stir.

"Mmmmm hi" Lulu said as she woke up. "I must have fallen asleep while trying to pick what kind of flower to put in the flower arrangements. Maxie has been hounding me to choose something"

"Lulu" Dante started carefully "if you don't want to have this big wedding, I'm happy to run off with you and get married just the two of us. I just want you to be my wife. I don't care about flowers or anything else"

"I know you would but your mom, your brothers and sister, your Nona, they all want to see us get married and share in our big day. I know how important your family is to you and they are going to be my family too. It is tempting just to run off with you and elope but you know we can't. Your mom would never speak to us again." Lulu explained.

"I guess you are right. She would be really upset with us if we ran off together." Dante conceded.

"Honey, I know you feel guilty that my family isn't around but it is really okay. They decided they didn't want to be a part of my life anymore. I have to move forward and I want to do that with you." Lulu leaned in to kiss him soundly. She pulled back and grinned "You know we have to decide on a honeymoon spot"

"Hmmm. We need to go somewhere warm so you can parade around in skimpy bikinis" Dante winked at her.

"I know you aren't going to like this" Lulu cautiously started "but Sonny offered us his private island for three weeks as a wedding gift. Normally I wouldn't even consider taking anything from Sonny but think about how nice it would be to have three weeks totally alone. Just you and me frolicking on the beach, drinking fruity drinks, making love in the sun."

"When you put it like that you make it hard to resist." Dante considered what Sonny was offering. On the one hand, he didn't want to take anything that Sonny earned with his dirty mob money. On the other hand, three weeks totally alone with Lulu sounded like heaven. "For you, I would put aside my differences with Sonny this one time and accept this gift. I can't say no to three weeks alone with you on our own island"

Lulu leapt into Dante's lap and peppered his face with kisses. "I can't wait to be alone with you for three weeks. No phone calls from the PCPD in the middle of the night. No drama from my family. Just you and me."

As if on cue, Dante's phone rang. Lulu sighed and climbed off of his lap as he dug his phone out of his pocked. "Falconeri" he answered. He listened for a moment and assured the person on the other end of the line that he would be right there. He hung up and turned to Lulu. "It was work, I have to go to a crime scene."

Lulu took a deep breath and tried not to panic. "Okay" she said shakily "Please please please be careful" she begged as she hugged him tightly.

He squeezed her tight, kissed her and left with the promise to text every little while to check in.

Lulu sat back down on the couch and tried to remain calm. She knew she had to distract herself so she dug back into the wedding plans. Pretty soon she had all of the flower arrangements picked out, a color theme selected and a list of songs for the DJ to play. Once she had finished all of that, she decided the loft could use a good cleaning. She picked up all of her and Dante's clothes from everywhere and put them in the hamper. Next she scrubbed the bathroom from top to bottom, cleaned out the fridge, wiped down all of the counters and washed the floors. Once the loft was sparkling clean she decided to take a bubble bath to try and relax. She filled the tub and added some scented bubble bath. Then she lit a few candles and climbed in. She leaned back, closed her eyes and could feel the tension starting to melt away. In the back of her mind she was still worried about Dante but the panic was no longer overwhelming.

A little while later, Dante quietly entered the loft thinking Lulu would be asleep. He noticed she had cleaned while he was out and that the bed was empty. He saw the soft light coming out of the slightly ajar bathroom door and knew Lulu must be taking a bath. He pushed the door open and found Lulu relaxing in the tub with her eyes closed. "Do you have room in there for your fiancé?"

Lulu jumped a mile and her eyes flew open "I didn't hear you come in!"

"I was trying to be quiet because I thought you would be asleep but the bed was empty." Dante explained as he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it on the bathroom floor.

"Hey now, don't you make a mess, I just cleaned this loft from top to bottom" Lulu scolded.

Dante was unbuttoning his pants as he grinned at her "You want me to stop?"

Lulu's gaze drifted over his muscular chest and down to where is hands had stilled on his zipper. "Get those pants off and get in here"

Dante did as he was told and shed the rest of his clothes. Lulu could feel herself growing hot as she watched him walk over to the tub. She scooted forward to allow him room to slide in behind her. Once he was seated she leaned back against him and he wrapped his arms around her.

"This is THE best way to decompress after being at a crime scene for hours" Dante sighed happily.

"I'm just glad you are back home safe with me. I love you."

"I love you too." They relaxed in the warm water for a little while, just enjoying being together.

Lulu told him about the flowers she had picked out. Dante told her what he could share about the case he was working on.

"We should get out and go to bed" Dante said as he kissed her neck. Lulu could feel him growing hard against her.

"Something tells me you aren't talking about going to sleep" Lulu teased as she sensuously moved against him.

"Whatever would give you that idea?" Suddenly Dante scooted her forward and stood up. His hard cock was right at eye level as he climbed out to grab some towels. He wrapped one around his waist, which did little to conceal his desire for her and then he reached for her hand to help her up and out of the tub. He wrapped a towel around her and took her hand to lead her into the bedroom. Once they had reached the bed, he took the towel he had wrapped around her and dried her off. Then he took his own towel off and dropped them both in the hamper.

"Thanks for cleaning up the loft tonight baby." Dante smiled at her. "Lay down on the bed and let me show you my appreciation."

Lulu laid down on the bed and anxiously awaited Dante's next move. She knew she was already wet from the anticipation.

Dante stood and stared at Lulu's gorgeous naked body for a moment. She was perfect and she was all his. "Spread your legs"

Lulu did as she was told and opened herself up to him. Dante climbed onto the bed and kneeled between her legs, looking down at her. He ran a finger from her lips, down between her breasts, over her stomach and down into her wet folds. "You are so wet already"

"Just looking at you gets me so wet Dante."

"I have been thinking about this all day." Dante's pushed his finger inside her and she gasped. He leaned down to put his face between her legs, breathing in the scent of her arousal. He slowly slid his tongue in her folds as she bucked her hips off of the bed. He put his hands on her thighs to hold her down and continued slowly licking and suckling her. The sight of his head between her legs and the feeling of his tongue teasing her made her even more wet. She moaned and put her hands in his hair to push his head against her and grind herself on his tongue. He finally suckled on her clit and she screamed as she came hard against his mouth. He stayed with her, kissing and licking as gently as she came down from her orgasm. He kissed her inner thighs and then up her stomach to her breasts. He licked and sucked each nipple and then moved up to kiss her neck and up her chin to her mouth. She could taste herself on him and smell her arousal on his face. It turned her on even more and she had to have him inside her right then. She reached down between them and stroked his hard cock. She positioned his cock at her opening and then he grabbed her hands and put them over her head as he thrust inside her. Her nipples were rubbing against his chest as he slowly slid in and out of her. They were both panting with pleasure, never wanting this feeling to end. They moved together like that for what seemed like hours until finally Lulu couldn't take it anymore and begged him to speed up "Harder Dante please!"

He could never deny her anything so he started pounding into her over and over. He let go of her hands to rise up on his knees and lift her legs over his shoulders. "Like that baby?" The new angle allowed him to slide into her even deeper. "Oh god yes Dante just like that!" His thrusts became frantic as he could feel himself nearing the edge. "I'm almost there Dante!" Lulu panted as she started squeezing her breasts. "Yes, yes, oh god yes!" Lulu came hard and Dante followed immediately after. Her legs fell from his shoulders and she wrapped them around his waist, wanting to keep him inside her as long as possible. He buried his face in her neck trying to catch his breath.

"That was amazing" he said as he kissed his way up to her mouth. "I love you so much"

"I love you too"

Dante rolled off of her and pulled her close. She snuggled up against him and they fell into a contented sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It was New Year's Eve and the Wedding Day had arrived. The Haunted Star was decked out with colorful flowers everywhere and candles gave the room a soft glow. The wedding was small with only about 40 guests. Dante's family alone took up about half of that list. The rest were comprised of various friends from Crimson, the PCPD and the few members of Lulu's family left in Port Charles.

Lulu was in one of the staterooms all dressed and ready to go. Maxie was flitting around fixing stray strands of hair and making sure every detail of Lulu's wedding look was perfect. While this was going on, Lulu was just trying to keep breathing. She was a combination of nervous, excited, hopeful, sad and scared. Both Olivia and Tracy had been by to see her and wish her well. She loved them for trying to fill the role of mom on her big day but she still missed Laura. She was also hoping Lucky, Luke and Nik would make a miraculous arrival but none of them had responded to her repeated texts, calls and emails. She was terribly sad not to have her family with her on this special day but she knew she couldn't put off her own happiness anymore. She had to live for herself and not for her family. The only part that she was having a really hard time with was the thought of having to walk down the aisle alone. Just then she was shaken out of her thoughts by a knock on the door. Maxie went to open it and found Sonny standing on the other side. Maxie turned to Lulu to see if she should let him in. Lulu nodded and Sonny entered. "Maxie would you mind giving us a minute?" Sonny requested.

"There is NO way I'm leaving you alone in here with her. Who knows what you will say to her and she doesn't need any Negative Nellies on her special day!" Maxie rambled nervously.

"Maxie, it is okay. Give us a minute" Lulu said as Maxie eyed her suspiciously. "Really! It will be fine."

Maxie gave Sonny a final warning look and said she would be back in five minutes.

"What is it Sonny?"

"Lulu, I'm only here to wish you well and to say that I couldn't be happier that my son is marrying a woman like you. You have been strong for him through all of his hard times these past couples of years. Admittedly I'm the cause of a few of those hard times. I just want you to know that I'm not going to get in the way or cause any problems for you two in the future. Dante is my son and I love him. I have known you since you were born and I love you like a daughter. I will let Dante decide what kind of relationship he wants to have with me. I will always be here for him but I'm not going to put any pressure on him anymore. I hope that he decides he wants me in his life, in your life together."

Lulu's eyes filled with tears and she fought hard to fight them back so she didn't ruin the make-up that Maxie spent hours applying. "Sonny, I don't know if I will ever be able to completely forgive you for shooting Dante. However, I do want you to know that I appreciate you supporting my relationship with Dante and helping me so much while I was growing up. I love Dante and if he wants to have a relationship with you, and I'm pretty sure that he does, I promise I won't get in the way. I only want him to be happy." Lulu walked over and hugged a very surprised Sonny.

"Sonny, I have something to ask you and you can feel free to say no, please don't feel obligated if it makes you uncomfortable. It's just that without my father around, I have no one to walk me down the aisle and I was wondering if you might do it?"

Sonny was shocked that Lulu would ask him to be the one to walk her down the aisle. "Lulu, I would be completely honored to walk you down the aisle. Are you sure that's what you want?"

Lulu nodded "I'm sure. I know Dante would like it if you were included today, even if he won't admit it and without my father here, I really need someone to fill in."

In another stateroom, Dante was straightening his tie for the thousandth time. Michael came back from taking a peak at the room and let Dante know that just about everyone was seated and ready. "Are you nervous?" Michael asked.

"I'm not nervous about marrying Lulu. I have never been more sure about anything in my whole life. I'm nervous that she will regret getting married without her family here."

"Dante, she has her friends here and Tracy and Ethan. If she waited around for her family to get it together you guys might never get married."

"I know you are right. I just want her to be happy." Dante sighed.

"I have known Lulu my whole life and I have never seen her as happy as she is when she is with you. She loves you and wants to be your wife. Now let's get this show on the road"

"Let's do this."

They left the stateroom and made their way to the front of the rows of chairs that had been set up, greeting various guests along their way. Dante nervously turned to the back of the room to wait for Lulu to appear at the end of the aisle.

"Are you ready Lulu?" Sonny asked as he extended his elbow to her.

"I'm definitely ready/" Lulu confidently took his arm as Maxie gave her a hug and walked out ahead of them.

Lulu and Sonny made their way down the hall and entered the main room. All of the guests turned to look and were shocked to see her on Sonny's arm. Dante heard everyone's gasps and looked up to catch the first glimpse of his bride. His breathe caught when he saw her. She looked like an angel in her long white dress with her blonde hair cascading down her shoulders. She was more beautiful than he had even imagined. He was so focused on how beautiful she looked that it took him a minute to realize Sonny was guiding her down the aisle. He looked back at Lulu and she grinned at him and winked. When they arrived at the front, Sonny gave her a kiss on the cheek and passed her hand to Dante. "Take care of each other." He said and he sat down in his front row seat. The rest of the guests followed his lead and took their seats. Olivia was already tearing up and Steve handed her some tissues.

The priest welcomed everyone to the wedding and began the ceremony. After a few words about love and commitment he turned to the bride and groom and asked them to say their vows that they had written to each other. Lulu went first.

"Dante, from the moment we met at Jake's, I knew you were different. Who else would let my brothers beat them up to get my attention? " The crowd laughed as they had all heard the story. "You wormed your way into my heart on that very first day and have been there ever since. You are a great man, you are loyal, you are loving and supportive, you didn't let me run from you or our love no matter how hard I tried and I'm so grateful to you for that. I feel so lucky that you chose me to love. We can get through anything as long as we're together and I can't wait to see what the future brings." Dante had tears in his eyes as Lulu slid his ring on his finger. He took a deep breath to pull himself together and looked into Lulu's eyes. It was like there was nobody else in the room.

"Lulu, I knew the moment you blew off my best lines that you were different and that I had to get to know you. I would let your brothers beat me up again anytime as long as it means you will nurse me back to health." He winked at her as the crowd chuckled. "You stood by my side through one of the hardest times of my life and never wavered. You stood with me when the whole town wanted my head on a platter. You are strong, fiercely protective, gorgeous, smart, funny and I feel like I discover something new about you every day. I thank god for bringing you into my life and I have faith that whatever comes our way, we will get through it together. My love for you grows more and more each day and I can't wait to see where life takes us." Dante slid the ring on Lulu's fingers and they stared into each other eyes, both filled with tears.

"Without further adieu, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride"

Dante leaned in and kissed Lulu softly. "I'm so happy you are finally my wife" he said not taking his mouth off of hers and kissed her again. They finally pulled apart and faced the crowd who were on their feet and cheering. They held hands and started to walk back down the aisle receiving hugs and well wishes the whole way down. Once they had entered the stateroom and were alone, Dante grabbed Lulu and kissed her senseless. "Baby, we are married!" he said and kissed her again. Lulu pulled back out of breath and looked into Dante's eyes. "I'm so beyond happy to be your wife."

"You look so gorgeous. This dress is amazing. How in the world did Sonny end up walking you down the aisle?" Dante asked incredulously.

"He came to me right before the ceremony to wish us well and I asked him at the spur of the moment. I know he and I have had our problems over what he did to you but he has known me since I was born and I was feeling sentimental. If my dad couldn't be here, Sonny was nice to step in."

"I'm sure he was honored to be included in our day, Mrs. Falconeri. "

"We should probably get out there to our guests Mr. Falconeri" Lulu said as she went to the mirror to check her make-up and hair. She reapplied her lipstick and fluffed her hair. "Ready to face the world as husband and wife?"

"I'm ready to face anything with you by my side" he said as he reached for her hand and pulled her out of the room.

They re-entered the main room of the Haunted Star to cheers as they greeted their guests. The rows of chairs had been replaced with set tables for dinner and space for a dance floor had been cleared. Everyone was mingling and enjoying cocktails before the dinner was to be served. Olivia rushed up and hugged both of them with tears in her eyes. "I'm so happy for you kids. Is it too soon to ask about grandbabies?" Dante and Lulu laughed. Lulu responded "Let us enjoy being husband and wife for a few minutes first." Maxie was up next and she hugged Lulu before turning to Dante "If you hurt her, I will hurt you. Don't forget that my Uncle Mac is your boss." With that, she stalked off to find Matt. Dante and Lulu grinned at each other. Not even Maxie's threats could upset them today. Sonny came up and shook Dante's hand and kissed Lulu on the cheek. "Thanks for walking Lulu down the aisle Sonny. It really meant a lot to both of us." Dante said.

"Lulu, I'm sure your father would have been here if he could. I was honored to fill in." He gave her hand a squeeze and then went back to his date, Kate Howard.

Tracy came by as soon as Sonny had walked away "I can't believe you let that mobster walk you down the aisle! What were you thinking?"

"Tracy, my dad didn't show up and Sonny is Dante's father. I didn't want to walk down the aisle by myself and he was kind enough to fill in. Can we cool it with the mobster stuff, just for tonight?" Lulu pleaded.

"Fine." Tracy huffed and then changed the subject "I'm very proud of you Lulu for going through with this wedding today even though your family didn't come through for you." Tracy hugged her and went back to sit at her table with the rest of the Quartermaines.

After dinner it was time for the couple to share their first dance. They had chosen "Today" by Joshua Radin as the song for their dance. Dante led Lulu out to the dance floor and pulled her in close as the song played. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest as they swayed to the music. "I've never been happier" Dante whispered into her ear. Lulu sighed contentedly and tightened her hold around Dante's neck.

After the song ended the DJ started playing dance songs and everyone got out on the dance floor. Hours later, after everyone had dance, drank, eaten, laughed and enjoyed themselves, it was time for the newlyweds to leave for their honeymoon. They hugged everyone goodbye and headed for the limo that would take them to Sonny's private plane.

Lulu leaned in to kiss Dante and then snuggled into his side and yawned. "That was the best day ever"

Dante kissed the top of her head. "I didn't know it was possible to be this happy."

They got to the airport and boarded Sonny's plane. As they got settled, Dante decided it was time to confess that they weren't going directly to Sonny's island.

"Lulu, I have a surprise for you and I hope you'll be happy about it" he started nervously. "We aren't going to Sonny's island just yet. Instead, we are going to Paris for 3 days to visit your mom and see the sights. I know how sad you were that she couldn't come here to Port Charles for the wedding so I thought we could bring the wedding to her. I had Spinelli email me a video of the ceremony that we can show her."

Lulu just sat there staring at Dante with her mouth open. She was utterly shocked. After a few moments of silence Dante couldn't take it anymore.

"Lulu please say something. Are you upset? Should I have asked you first? I really wanted it to be a surprise."

Lulu finally found her voice and reached for Dante's hand as she spoke "Dante, just when I think you can't possibly get more wonderful and amazing, you go and do something like this. You are the most thoughtful, kind and loving man." She said as her eyes filled with tears. "I missed having my mom there today so much and I can't tell you how much it means to me that you figured out a way to include her. I love you." The tears spilled over as Lulu leaned forward to give Dante a gentle and loving kiss.

"I'm just so relieved you are happy about it. I was so worried that I was doing the wrong thing. We will arrive in Paris tomorrow morning and go straight to see your mom. I made dinner reservations for the three of us for tomorrow night. We can spend the next couple of days seeing Paris and then get back on the plane to head to the island for three weeks of nothing but you in skimpy bikinis or less."

"We better get some rest then since we have a busy day tomorrow." Lulu took Dante's hand and led him to the small bedroom in the back of the plane. He followed her in and closed and locked the door.

He took off his suit jacket and tie and laid them on the chair next to the bed. Lulu turned her back to him "Help me with this zipper hubby?" He obliged and slowly lowered the zipper and Lulu's dress fell to the ground. She had on a white corset and white lace thong underneath. She slowly bent over to pick up her dress off the floor and tossed it over Dante's discarded clothes on the chair. Dante admired how hot his wife was as she straightened back up and turned around. She unbuttoned his shirt and let it slide to the floor and then set to work on getting him out of his pants. Dante turned Lulu back around and put his hands on her stomach and rubbed up to her breasts, cupping them through the corset. Lulu moaned and ground herself against his hardening cock through his boxers. He moved his hands back behind her and started undoing the corset. When he finally had it all undone he let it fall to the ground and brought his hands back around to cup her bare breasts. He pinched her nipples and she let out a squeak. She abruptly turned around to wrap her arms around Dante's neck and press herself against him as she kissed him sensuously. They moved over to lay down on the bed where they kissed for several minutes, just enjoying letting their tongues explore. Dante moved his mouth down to her neck and then down to her breasts. He took each one in his mouth and sucked gently. Lulu ran her hands through his hair and pushed his head against her. He started to kiss his way down her stomach but Lulu stopped him. "I can't wait anymore. I want to feel you inside me right now." Dante didn't have to be told twice. He quickly yanked down her panties and shed his boxers before settling over her again. Lulu ran her hand down his chest and stomach to his groin and grasped his cock to lead him inside of her. She placed the tip at her opening and then pushed herself onto him as they both sighed with relief. "I have been thinking about this moment all day" Lulu panted. They looked into each other's eyes and Dante started slowing thrusting in and out. Drawing himself out to the tip and slowly sliding back in. They moved liked that together for what seemed like hours, just enjoying their physical and emotional connection. Finally Dante knew he couldn't resist any longer and started pumping into her hard and fast. Her legs were wrapped tightly around him and she grinded herself against him every time he thrust all the way in. She could feel him so deep and knew she would go over the edge any second. She came hard as Dante slammed into her. A few more thrusts and he followed her, his cock exploding inside her. They kissed passionately as they came down from their high. Lulu's hips still rocked slightly against him and she could feel him twitching inside her. She looked into his eyes "Wow. That felt different"

"I know." He said as he kissed her again. "I feel so connected to you."

Lulu unwrapped her legs from him as he pulled slowly pulled out. She felt the loss immediately. He rolled off of her and pulled her in close. "We should rest up for the next round." Lulu chuckled and kissed his chest. They slowly drifted off to sleep. Everyone couple of hours one of them would wake up and kiss the other one awake to make love again until it was time to prepare for landing. They took a shower in the small bathroom attached to the bedroom and dressed for their first full day in Paris. Lulu was excited and anxious to introduce her mother to her brand new husband.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note:

Thank you all again for the kind reviews. As a first time writer, it really means a lot that people are enjoying this story and the reviews are very encouraging to keep going. Here is the next chapter. I have Chapter 11 mostly written and hope to have it up sometime in the next couple of days. As always, please read and review!

Chapter 10

It was a crisp, cold winter day in Paris when they arrived. They bundled up in hats and scarves before they exited the plane. They went to see Laura straight from the airport and had their bags sent over to their hotel. She was staying at a facility in Ile Saint Louis that was housed in an old mansion. She had her own suite of rooms with an apartment feel to them but there were doctors on call 24/7 in case she had an episode and staff came by to check on her periodically. She also went to daily therapy and took medication. A few weeks ago, she had a setback and had to have a nurse stay in the suite with her around the clock but in the last couple of days, things were improving. Her doctors thought a visit from her daughter would do her a world of good. Laura set up a nice brunch and waited for their arrival.

Dante and Lulu arrived at the facility and checked in at the front desk. The place was a gorgeous old building with ornate moldings and beautiful art on the walls. They were directed up a few flights up of stairs to Laura's suite. Lulu looked at Dante, took a deep breath and knocked. The door opened and Dante saw the spitting image of Lulu. "Mom!" Lulu said as she rushed forward to hug Laura. "It is so good to see you, I have missed you so much." Lulu pulled back and turned towards Dante. "Mom, I have someone very important for you to meet, this is my husband Dante."

"Dante, so nice to meet you in person finally. Thank you for arranging this visit. I was so sorry to have to miss the wedding."

Dante reached his hand out to greet her with handshake but Laura pulled him into a hug. "Handshakes are for strangers, we are family now" Laura playfully scolded. "Come in! Come in! I want to hear all about the wedding. I set up brunch for us. I'm sure you are hungry after your long trip." Laura ushered them inside to her dining room and directed them to sit at the table. She had put out quite a spread of pastries and fruit from a nearby patisserie. She poured them each a cup of coffee and joined them at the table. "So, tell me all about this wedding. Did your brothers or your dad make it?"

Lulu glanced at Dante before answering "No, they couldn't make it. Things moved along rather quickly after we got engaged and they must not have gotten my messages."

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry they weren't there. You should have had your family there for you. They are all going to hear it from me the next time they call to check in. You do not miss the wedding of your only daughter or sister." Laura apologized.

"Mom, really it is okay. It was a wonderful wedding. All of Dante's family was there. Ethan and Tracy came out to support me. Sonny even walked me down the aisle!" Lulu assured her.

"Your father is going to be upset with himself when he realizes he missed that important moment of walking you down the aisle." Laura started to tear up. "I'm so sorry Lulu that you never had the support that you deserved from your family. I hope you know it doesn't mean that they don't love you."

Lulu leaned over and gave her mother a hug. "Mom, please don't worry about it. I have come to terms with who my father is and who my brothers are. I know they love me in their own way but I can't wait around to start my life because they can't show up for things. I'm starting my own family with Dante." She reached over to grab Dante's hand. "He is my support system now and I'm his. That's all I need."

"Honey, I'm so proud of you for moving forward with your life after everything that has happened in the last few years. Enough talk about sad things." She turned towards Dante "I want to get to know your new husband. Dante, tell me about yourself. What was it like growing up in Bensonhurst?"

"Well, just like any childhood I guess. I played stickball, got into normal boyhood mischief. My mom was a single mother and she was very young when she had me but she was and is an incredible mother. I'm very lucky to have her."

"Yes, Lulu speaks very highly of your mother. She sounds like a remarkable woman. Lulu has told me how supportive and wonderful she has been to her in my absence. I hope to get to meet her someday and let her know how much I appreciate it." Laura said.

Dante looked lovingly at Lulu and squeezed her hand. "She loves Lulu so much and really considers her like the daughter she never had."

They finished up their brunch, talking and catching up. After brunch they retired to the sitting room and Dante put on the video of the wedding. Laura cried through the whole thing. "Honey you look so beautiful and those vows were so special. I'm so happy for you two." Laura hugged her daughter close for a minute and just enjoyed her presence.

"Now, what do you two have planned for today?" Laura asked.

"I thought the three of us might go see the sights and then I made dinner reservations for 8pm." Dante said.

"You don't want me hanging around on your honeymoon, you two kids go off and have fun!" Laura insisted.

"Mom, I never get to see you and I want to spend time with you. Dante and I will be alone on Sonny's island for three weeks after we leave here." Lulu pleaded.

"Well, when you put it that way…." Laura hedged.

"Okay then it is settled. I thought we could do one of those hop on, hop off tours that takes you around to all of the major sites. It will let us off at the Louvre and we can tour the museum" Dante laid out his plan.

"You really thought of everything. Thank you for planning this trip." Lulu said as she gave Dante a kiss on the cheek.

They bundled up and headed out to catch the tour bus to see the sites. As they were exiting the building Dante had the strange feeling that they were being watched. He looked around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary and kept on walking.

Scott Baldwin watched from the shadows as Laura, Lulu and the dark haired man sauntered off to see the sites. "How dare she come here?" he seethed. She looked so happy holding hands with the dark haired man. "How dare she look so happy after she killed my son?" Scott followed from a safe distance and decided that long awaited revenge was finally upon him.

Lulu, Dante and Laura had a fantastic day seeing the sights of Paris. They spent several hours touring the Louvre and looking at all of the beautiful art. The tour bus took them up the Champs Elysee to see the Arc de Triomphe and then over to the Eiffel Tower. It was very cold so they decided against going to the top. The bus stopped at Notre Dame and they got out to tour the church. Lulu couldn't believe how majestic and beautiful it was inside. Once they had tired themselves out, Laura went home to rest before dinner and Lulu and Dante went to get settled in to their hotel. Dante had booked them a suite at the Hotel de Crillion. The moment they arrived at the hotel, the staff was there to wait on them hand and foot. "Sonny must have called and told them we were coming" Dante whispered. "I feel like royalty." Lulu whispered back. Their personal butler showed them to their gorgeous suite with a large living room, bedroom and bathroom plus a terrace with views of the beautiful Paris cityscape. Their clothes for Paris had already been unpacked and hung up for them. They left their suitcases of beach clothes for the island on Sonny's plane. "I hope you packed some nice outfits for me Dante since you planned this little surprise trip." Lulu teased.

"You'll see when it is time to get dressed for dinner." Dante winked at her. "We have a couple of hours before dinner, what do you way we take a little rest?"

"That sounds like a great idea. I'm exhausted from the wedding and then we didn't get too much sleep on the plane"

Dante and Lulu stripped down to their underwear and climbed into the huge four poster bed. Lulu cuddled into Dante's side as he wrapped his arm around her and tossed a leg possessively over hers. "I love you so much for planning this trip to see my mom. I can't tell you how much it means to me." Lulu said as she leaned in to kiss Dante softly. "I'm so lucky to be married to a wonderful man like you."

"Damn straight you are" Dante teased as he kissed her again. They both sighed contentedly and drifted off to sleep.

A couple of hours later Dante woke up and looked out the window to see the evening lights of Paris. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to be in this beautiful city, in bed with his gorgeous wife. He looked down at a sleeping Lulu, still cuddled in to his side. He didn't want to wake her from her peaceful slumber but knew if they didn't get moving, they would be late for dinner with Laura. He squeezed her tight against him and kissed the top of her head. "Baby, time to wake up. We have to get ready for dinner." Lulu groaned and burrowed herself into Dante's side. He knew it would be a struggle to get her out of bed. They were both tired after the last two days. Suddenly he got up out of the bed, lifted Lulu in his arms and headed off to the bathroom. "Dante what's going on?" Lulu asked groggily. Dante carried her into the shower, turned on the water and it got her right in the face. "Hey!" Lulu yelped as she was now fully awake. Dante put her down and reached around her to unsnap her bra and toss it out of the shower. He reached down to her panties and stripped those off her as well. Next he shed his boxers and turned to toss them out of the shower, adding to the wet pile of undergarments. "Well, I'm certainly awake now" she complained as she slapped him on the ass. "That was the plan sweetheart." Dante said as he kissed her and pushed her back up against the wall. She ran her fingers through his wet hair and opened her mouth to allow his tongue to gain entry. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he slid inside her. They made love quickly in the shower before washing up and getting out to get ready for dinner.

They had a wonderful dinner with Laura at the restaurant Dante chose. Lulu told Laura all about the wedding and how crazy Maxie was about planning it. Dante loved how Lulu's face lit up talking to Laura. She looked truly happy. After dinner they hugged Laura goodbye and made plans to meet for lunch at Laura's favorite restaurant the following day. Dante and Lulu walked hand in hand back to their hotel. As they walked Dante kept looking around. "Dante what is it?" Lulu questioned. "It's nothing, I just keep getting the feeling of being followed. I'm sure I'm just being paranoid." Dante assured her. Lulu kissed Dante and wrapped her arms around his waist "Babe, who would even know we are here? Take off the detective hat." She teased. Dante sighed "You are right. I'm just being silly."

They arrived back and their hotel and as soon as they were inside their suite they immediately shed their clothes and made love before falling asleep in each other's arms.

Scott Baldwin watched as the happy couple walked hand in hand back to their hotel. He seethed watching Lulu's blissfully happy face around who he had now figured out was her new husband. He could tell the dark haired man sensed that they were being watched. He would have to be more careful to blend in as he planned his revenge.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Dante and Lulu spent two more days visiting with Laura and seeing the sights of Paris before boarding Sonny's plane to head to the island. Lulu cried saying goodbye to her mom but they promised to plan another visit again soon.

As the plane descended into the small airport on Sonny's island, Lulu looked out over the clear blue water, white sand beaches and tall palm trees waving in the breeze. "It is so beautiful here. I can't wait to relax on the beach with you. It has been such a whirlwind this past week with the wedding and then Paris. If I haven't said it enough, thank you for setting up that visit with my mom. It was just what I needed after my family missed the wedding. You take such good care of me." Lulu reached out to stroke his face and then leaned in to kiss him gently. "Baby, anything that makes you happy, makes me happy." He kissed her again. The plane landed and came to a stop. As soon as the door opened, they could feel the warm breeze and smell the fresh sea air. They made their way out of the plane and down the stairs to the waiting SUV that already held their luggage. They climbed in the back and the driver drove them the 15 minutes to Sonny's large house on the beach. The house was huge with several bedroom suites, a large kitchen and a state of the art movie theater. The living room had huge glass doors that slid into the wall and opened up to the pool and Jacuzzi. Beyond the pool deck was a white sandy beach that stretched for miles each way. Every room in the house had a view of the clear blue ocean. There was a speedboat docked as well as jet skis and surf boards for them to use. They toured the place in complete awe as the butler brought their luggage up to their suite and unpacked. Sonny gave them the option of having the house fully staffed 24/7 but they really wanted to be totally alone. The staff was just there to greet them and get them settled and would be on call if needed but not on the premises. They would come by once a week to restock the fridge and tidy up the place. The chef showed them around the kitchen and left a selection of pre-made dinners and snacks for them to eat. As soon as they knew the ins and outs of the house, the staff left them to their honeymoon.

"Alone at last." Dante said as he grabbed Lulu around the waist. "Just you and me and three weeks of uninterrupted bliss." Lulu squirmed out of his embrace. "Last one in the water has to make dinner!" and she took off out the door and down the beach, shedding clothes the whole way. As soon as Dante realized what was happening he took off after her, ripping of his own clothes along the way. She was naked by the time she reached the water and dove in. Dante made it to the water's edge and splashed in after her. They kissed and frolicked in the warm water and just enjoyed each other's company. After they got tired of swimming, they made their way up the beach collecting their clothes the whole way and settled in on one of the large two person lounging beds that were set up. They made sure to pick a lounger under an umbrella. In their haste to get in the water, they had not applied sunscreen. They lay naked entwined in each other's arms enjoying the warm breeze. "Are you sure nobody is going to come around here? I mean swimming naked was one thing but just laying around with no clothes on is quite another." Lulu worried.

"I promise baby, it is just you and me for miles. The staff homes are at least five miles from away and they have been instructed not to come here unless we call." Dante assured her as he squeezed her tight and kissed the tip of her nose. "We are totally and completely alone."

"Well then, let's make the most of it." Lulu pushed Dante onto his back and straddled him, kissing her way down his chest. She could taste the salt from the ocean and she licked his stomach. Dante pushed his hands into her wet hair and guided her head down to his groin, encouraging her to take him in her mouth. She swirled her tongue around the tip of his hardening cock and then took him in her mouth inch my inch until she couldn't take anymore. Dante groaned with pleasure and guided her head up and down as his cock became rock hard. She pulled his cock out of her mouth with a wet pop and then kissed her way down to suckle gently on his balls. She then licked the length of him and swirled her tongue on the tip again before taking him back into her mouth. He could feel himself reaching the edge and pulled her off of him before it was too late. She straddled him once again and positioned the head of his cock at her slick entrance. She lowered herself onto him as they both sighed with pleasure. Once he was balls deep inside her she started to slowly rock back and forth. She took his hands and put them on her breasts where he squeezed and then pinched her nipples. He was groaning and she was panting loudly but they knew nobody was around to hear them so they just let it out. He moved his hands from her breasts to her hips to quicken the pace. She started bouncing up and down on him, her breasts jiggling, her breath coming out in short pants that turned into little shrieks of pleasure. Dante was moaning loudly urging her on as she came closer and closer to the edge. She screamed out his name as she came and fell forward on top of him. He continued to pump into her hard and fast while he squeezed her ass. A few more deep thrusts and he came inside of her with a force he had never felt before. They lay still joined with Lulu slumped on top of him, both out of breath as they tried to come back to themselves. Lulu brought her mouth down to his and kissed him passionately. She pulled her face back to look into his eyes "I've never been this happy before. I love you."

"I love you too baby. More than I ever thought I could love." Dante said as he kissed her reverently. She climbed off of him and cuddled in to his side as they drifted off to sleep. They stayed like that until they woke up as the sun was setting.

After they enjoyed the sunset, they went inside the house to take a quick shower before preparing dinner. Lulu put on a short sundress and Dante dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. Dante didn't see the need for any clothes at all but Lulu insisted they eat dinner like civilized people. Dante took out one of the prepared dinners from the chef and heated it up while Lulu set the table. They dined out on the veranda enjoying the sounds of the waves crashing as they ate. "I can't believe this place is ours for three whole weeks. I'm never going to want to go home." Lulu said.

"I know. It is just magical here and I get you all to myself." Dante agreed.

After dinner Dante cleaned up the dishes while Lulu went up to the bedroom. She decided to set the mood by lighting some candles and putting on some soft music. When Dante came up to join her, he was delighted to find her laying on the bed waiting for him in some sexy black lingerie. Soon the lingerie landed on the floor along with his shorts and t-shirt as they made love for hours.

Three weeks later, it was their last night of the honeymoon. They both had nice, golden tans with no tan lines from spending so much time out on the beach totally nude. They had made the most of the three weeks by making love every time the mood struck (which of course was quite often), swimming, snorkeling, surfing, taking out the boat and the jet skis, exploring the island, enjoying delicious sunset dinners and talking about their future. It had been three weeks of blissful happiness and they felt more in love and connected than ever before.

They had one last romantic dinner, made love and passed out naked together. The next morning, Dante woke up and Lulu wasn't in bed. He figured she just got up to start packing for their departure later that day. He noticed the sheet was missing as he climbed out of bed. "That's odd." he thought to himself. "Lulu?" he called out as he went into the walk in closet. All of the clothes were still in there and nothing had been packed. Dante thought maybe she had gone down to have breakfast or take one last swim so he threw on some shorts and went looking for her. After he didn't find her in the kitchen or on the beach he was starting to get really worried. Where could she be?

Lulu woke up completely disoriented. She could immediately tell that she was on a plane and as she looked down she realized she was wrapped in the sheet from the bed at the beach house. She started to panic, not knowing how she got there and why she wasn't wearing clothes. "Ahh, I see sleeping beauty has woken up." Lulu looked up to find herself face to face with Scott Baldwin.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note:

Just wanted to say thank you again for all of the comments. Much appreciated. Things are about to take a bit of a dark turn but just bear with me. I promise I will have the next chapter up soon.

Chapter 12

Dante was searching everywhere for Lulu, calling out her name just hoping she would answer or pop out of somewhere saying it was all a joke. He had called the staff to come and help him look. He had the worst feeling about all of this. Lulu wouldn't just disappear without telling him.

Lulu was shocked to see Scott Baldwin's sneering face staring back at her. She then noticed the gun in his hand. He leered at her dressed only in a sheet and then he tossed her some clothes to put on. She quickly dressed under the sheet while he watched. Once she was dressed she found her voice "What do you want? Why am I here?"

"You are here Leslie Lu, because you killed my son and that had the nerve to skip along and have yourself a happy life. My son didn't get that chance at a happy life thanks to you."

"You know that it was an accident. He was coming after me and I was just trying to protect myself! Where is Dante? So help me god if you did anything to him" Lulu threatened.

"Not that you are in any position to be threatening people but your husband is just fine. I'm sure he is waking up right now alone and wondering where you are. Maybe even starting to panic." Scott sneered.

"What is the purpose of all of this? Are you going to kill me as revenge for your son?" Lulu demanded.

"Maybe I will and maybe I won't. That depends."

"Depends on what?" Lulu asked.

"Depends on if your father cares enough about you to come after you. I'm going to kill a Spencer. It will either be you or Luke since you both had a hand in destroying my life. I'll give him a chance to exchange his life for yours and if he doesn't come, I'll kill you." Scott explained.

Lulu knew immediately that she was doomed. Her father didn't care enough about her to even attend her wedding. He surely wouldn't exchange his life for hers, not that she would want him to anyway. "How long do I have?"

"You already sound defeated. No faith in dear old daddy?" Scott taunted. "You have until February 14th. Valentine's Day. Your brand new husband was stupid enough to marry you. Now he will always be able to remember the anniversary of your death. He should be receiving my instructions right about now."

Dante had spent hours frantically searching for Lulu when the butler came up to him with an envelope. "This just arrived for you sir."

Dante tore it open and a note and a bunch of pictures fell out. He picked up the photos one by one. They were of him and Lulu, asleep in bed together last night. The note read:

Hello Detective,

You don't know me but your wife sure does. She killed my son and got away with it, until now. You have until February 14th to save her life. Produce Luke Spencer and get him to agree to exchange his life for hers. A Spencer will die on February 14th. It is in your hands which one it is. Don't bother searching for us because by the time you have received this letter, Lulu and I will be on a plane to parts unknown. Our location will not be revealed until you have Luke Spencer and are ready to make the exchange. Your time would be best spent looking for him. He doesn't make himself easy to find.

Regards,

Logan's Father, Scott Baldwin

Dante was speechless. His wife had been taken right out of their bed. Right out from under his nose. He turned to the butler "Who delivered this?" he demanded to know.

"I don't know sir, it was just sitting on the front porch. I didn't see anyone around."

Dante knew whoever had delivered it wouldn't be able to provide any clues. If Scott Baldwin was able to get Lulu out of their bed without Dante even waking up, he would have had this letter delivered without a trace. He couldn't believe this was happening. His wife was gone and he had to get her back. There was no other alternative.

"Get Sonny's plane ready right now. I have to go back to Port Charles."

He had to find Luke Spencer and get him to agree to Scott's terms. He knew Lulu wouldn't want Luke to sacrifice himself for her but he didn't care. It was about time Luke Spencer put his daughter before himself. On the way to the airport, he left frantic messages for Lucky and Nik that Lulu had been taken and he needed to find Luke in order to get her back. The flight home was torture. All he could think about was Lulu and what Scott might be doing to her.

Scott had one of his men restrain Lulu to a plane seat with rope and handcuffs. He wasn't taking any chances that she would just cooperate and behave. She was a Spencer after all.

"How did you get to me?" Lulu asked. "Dante is not a sound sleeper. He wouldn't have just slept through you kidnapping me out of our bed."

"I injected you both with a drug to keep you in a deep, almost coma like sleep. I was able to take you right from his arms and he didn't even stir."

Lulu knew this was going to haunt Dante. That Scott was able to take her right from his arms and he didn't wake up. She already missed him terribly and the thought of never seeing him again was unbearable. She wanted to cry but knew she couldn't show weakness in front of her captor. She had to stay strong and try to figure out a way of this. She knew her Dad was a lost cause, if Dante would even be able to find him. She would never want him to exchange his life for hers anyway. She couldn't live with that. She wondered where Scott was taking her. All of the shades on the windows of the plane were down. She had no idea how long she was out so she couldn't even gage how long the flight was. She saw Scott reach into a bag and pull out a needle and started to panic. "No, please, what are you doing?"

"I'm making sure you have no way of figuring out where we land." Scott said as he injected Lulu while she struggled against her restraints. The drug took only seconds to work and she passed out.

Dante raced over to Sonny's place as soon as he landed in Port Charles. He had to start somewhere on his search to find Luke and Sonny had been friends with Luke for a long time. He was able to help Dante find Lulu at the Bordello over the summer, maybe he could help track down Luke.

Sonny was in his living room sitting at the desk when Dante barged in. "Dante you are back! How was the trip?" Immediately he could tell something was very wrong. "What happened?"

"Scott Baldwin took Lulu. I have to track down Luke and get him to agree to exchange his life for hers. I need you to help me find him." Dante explained.

"Scott Baldwin? How the hell did Scott Baldwin get Lulu?"

"Sonny he took her right out of bed. We enjoyed our last night on the island, went to sleep, I woke up and she was gone. I got a note and pictures this morning. I have to find Luke. Do you have any ideas on where he might be?"

"Dante, I'm sorry, I don't. I tried to find him before the wedding but had no luck. When Luke Spencer doesn't want to be found, he won't be found."

"I don't care what Luke wants." Dante yelled. "I'm going to find him and I'm going to save my wife! Now are you going to help me or not?"

"Dante, I'll do anything I can. I will get all of my people on it." Sonny promised. He couldn't believe this had happened. Dante looked like he was about to lose it completely and Sonny didn't blame him.

"I'm going to talk to Tracy and see if she knows anything. You call me if your people find anything." Dante said as he stormed out.

Lulu woke up in a cold, damp cell in what appeared to be an old dungeon. Her leg was shackled so she couldn't go very far from the wall. There was a bed and nothing else in the cell with her. She needed to figure out how to get out of this. She knew Dante wasn't going to be able to find Luke and she didn't want him risking his own life to save hers. Dante. She knew he must be frantic to find her and worried sick.

"Your husband is already back in Port Charles." Scott's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "He is storming around town looking for leads on Luke. What do you think the odds are that he is successful?

Lulu stayed silent. She knew the chances of Dante finding Luke were slim to none. She didn't doubt that her husband would go to the ends of the earth to save her. These circumstances were just impossible and she prayed that he didn't get hurt in the process.

Dante had gone to see Tracy with no luck. Tracy had no information on Luke and was furious with Dante for not protecting Lulu. He decided to return to the loft to regroup and think about his next move. He opened the door and entered their apartment for the first time in almost a month. He thought he would be returning home with his new wife after their blissful honeymoon. He never thought he would be returning without her. There were reminders of Lulu everywhere. The wedding gifts were stacked up on and around the dining room table. Lulu's purses were all hanging by the door. Her stilettos were sitting by the couch where she had last kicked them off. Dante knew he couldn't shut down. He had to keep moving and come up with a plan. He racked his brain trying to figure out who might be able to help him find Luke. He knew Laura had not had any contact with him since they discussed it while they were in Paris. He also knew neither of her sons had checked in recently either. He decided to go see Ethan next. He had to tell him about Lulu and he might have some clues about where Luke could have gone. He showered and put on fresh clothes, took one last glance at Lulu's shoes sitting by the couch and left for the Haunted Star.

Ethan was behind the bar pouring himself a drink when Dante arrived. "Hey! It is my new brother-in-law!" Ethan greeted Dante. He immediately noticed the look on Dante's face and realized something was very wrong. "What is it? What happened? Where is Lulu?"

"Lulu has been taken. Scott Baldwin kidnapped her from Sonny's island and I have to produce Luke in order to get her back. I need you to help me find him. Where could he be?" Dante demanded.

"Lulu has been kidnapped? Why would he do that?" Ethan asked frantically.

"He wants revenge because of Logan. Tell me have you had ANY contact with Luke? Your sister's life is at stake here man. I have to get my wife back."

"I'm sorry mate. I haven't heard from Luke since he left town after Lulu told him about the engagement. Last I heard he was running some jewel con with Helena. Have you called Nik or Lucky?"

"I called them both and got no response. I was in Greece with Lulu this summer on Helena's island. Do you think Luke might have gone back there?"

"He may have but I have no way of knowing for sure." Ethan responded.

"It is all I have at this point. I'm going to Greece to look for him. I need you to keep calling Lucky and if there is anything else you can think of call me immediately." Dante ran out of the Haunted Star to go get back on Sonny's plane.

A week later Dante was back in Port Charles and no closer to finding Luke. He had made it into Helena's compound but there was no sign of Luke or any other Cassadines. He searched the whole island and came up with nothing. He had no idea what to do next or where to look. He was feeling hopeless and things only got worse when another letter from Scott came, this time via email and with a video clip attached. The email read:

Dear Detective,

Looks like you aren't having any luck tracking down Luke Spencer. I thought you were a better detective than that. Time is running out and a Spencer is going to die.

Regards,

Scott Baldwin, Logan's Father

The video clip attached was of Lulu. His Lulu. Trapped in some kind of cell in what looked like a dirty, dark, damp dungeon. Her leg was shackled to a wall and she was sleeping in a small, uncomfortable looking bed. Her face looked gaunt and there were dark circles under her eyes. She looked nothing like the vibrant, healthy woman he last saw on his honeymoon. How could this have happened to her in a week? What was Scott doing to her?

He forwarded the email and clip to Spinelli in hopes that he might be able to trace the origins. He knew he had to get some sleep because he was no use to Lulu without a sharp mind. He hadn't slept in days except for napping on various planes. He went to lay down on the bed. Their bed. He could still smell her shampoo on her pillow. He fell into a fitful, exhausted sleep and hoped that when he woke up, this would all turn out to be a bad dream.

The next morning, Dante woke up and turned to Lulu's side of the bed to pull her close. As soon as he felt the cold sheets there, he remembered that she was gone. Taken from him while he slept in their honeymoon bed. His phone rang. "Falconari" he gruffly answered.

"Dante it is Lucky."

"Lucky? Where the hell have you been? Have you seen your father? " Dante demanded.

"I'm in Ireland. I have been in the countryside for the last few weeks and my phone didn't work. I haven't seen or heard from my father. Why does Scott Baldwin have Lulu? Do you have any leads on where they might have gone?"

"I have nothing. He won't even give me a clue on where they are in the world until I can produce Luke. I need you to help me find him Lucky. I have to get Lulu back."

"I'm coming to Port Charles. I will be there later tonight. Meet me at the Haunted Star at 7."

Dante hung up the phone and had a tiny bit of hope. Lucky would know better than anyone where Luke might go.

Lulu woke up and turned over to snuggle into Dante. She then remembered she was in the dungeon prison cell and Dante wasn't there. Her leg was sore from where the shackle rubbed her skin raw. She was listless, hopeless and tired. She couldn't eat. The only time she was allowed out of her cell was to use the facilities and shower. Scott stayed in the room with her while she did both, not taking any chances that she might escape. She felt disgusting that this man watched her in what should be private moments. It just added to the despair of her situation. She almost wished he would just kill her and get it over with since she knew Luke was not going to turn up. She missed Dante terribly. She would give anything to hear his voice again and to feel his arms wrapped around her. The thought that she would never get to see him again was just too much. She spent most of her time in her cell sleeping in hopes that she would dream about him.

Dante was waiting at the Haunted Star for Lucky at 7pm sharp. Ethan was already there. Lucky arrived right on time and wanted to get right to work "Tell me everything that happened from the wedding on."

"Lulu was sad that most of her family wasn't able to attend the wedding." Dante started and looked at Lucky pointedly. "So I surprised her with a trip to Paris to visit Laura. We spent three days with Laura seeing the sights and then we flew to Sonny's island to spend three weeks. The last morning, I woke up and she was gone. I got pictures and a letter from Scott telling me he took her and that I had to produce Luke and exchange his life for hers."

"Scott must have seen you in Paris. He keeps tabs on my mother." Lucky surmised.

"I felt like we were being watched in Paris. I thought I was just being paranoid and Lulu told me to take my detective hat off." Dante knew he should have gone with his instincts that something wasn't right. Now Lulu might pay the price.

"We have to go Paris and see if we can find any leads. Have you told my mother what happened?" Lucky asked.

"I didn't want to upset her."

"She is going to be more upset if we don't tell her. Will Sonny let us use his plane?"

"Yes, he gave me the plane until Lulu is home safe."

"Ethan, you need to keep trying to find Dad. Follow up on anything you can think of." Lucky ordered.

Lucky and Dante arrived in Paris the next day and went straight to see Laura. She was happy to see Lucky at first until she saw Dante and no Lulu.

"What has happened? Where is my little girl?" Laura demanded.

"Mom, I need you to remain calm. Lulu has been kidnapped by Scott Baldwin. He wants revenge for what happened to Logan. He will only let her go if we find Dad and exchange him for her." Lucky explained carefully.

Laura collapsed on the couch in tears. "Not my baby. We have to get her back!"

"We need your help to find her or find Luke so we can at least get Scott to tell us where they are." Dante sat next to Laura on the couch. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect her. I will do anything to get her back."

Laura grabbed Dante's hand. "I know honey. I could see how much you love her when you came to visit. She told me how you saved her a number of times already. I know you would give your life for her if you had to."

Later that night, Dante was tossing and turning in a Paris hotel room. They had brainstormed with Laura all day and came up with nothing. He didn't want to waste time sleeping but Lucky insisted that they rest so they could be fresh to start again tomorrow. All he could think about were the images of Lulu in that cell. She looked so frail. His heart ached thinking about what might be happening to her.

Days later, they still didn't have any leads on Luke or Scott Baldwin. The February 14th deadline was tomorrow and they had nothing to go on. They had tried all of the suggested places that Laura thought Luke might go and turned up nothing. Wherever he had gone, he didn't want to be found this time. Dante was feeling hopeless and the latest video clip from Scott didn't help. Lulu was awake in this one but she was just sitting there, staring at the wall. She looked despondent and defeated. She knew she was going to die and that nobody was coming to save her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

_Dear Dante,_

_If you are reading this, it means the deadline has passed. Please don't blame yourself for any of this. You never could have seen this coming or prevented it from happening. My past caught up with me and now I have to pay for my mistakes. I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love anyone. I'm so happy and proud that I got to be your wife, even if it was just for a short time. I want you to move on with your life. Please don't shut down or declare revenge. Revenge is what started this whole thing and can only lead to more heartache. Think about the wonderful memories and how lucky we were to find a love like ours. I'm so sorry that my past took away our future. I wanted nothing more than to have a family and grow old with you. You are an amazing man and the love of my life. The words "I love you" just don't seem like enough to convey what you mean to me._

_Love,_

_Lulu_

The letter arrived on February 15th. One day after he was unable to save her. One day after his whole world came crashing in on him. It came with Lulu's shirt soaked in her blood and horrific pictures of her lying on the floor of her cell surrounded by a pool of blood. The love of his life had died on the floor of a cold, damp dungeon. He couldn't save her. After all of his promises to love and protect Lulu, she was stolen right out of their bed and murdered. His chest hurt and he felt like he couldn't breathe. How was he supposed to breathe without her? He started drinking to numb the pain and didn't stop until he passed out.

Dante didn't leave his apartment for days. He sat in the dark drinking and imagining what Lulu's last moments were like. She must have been so scared. Various people stopped by to try and get him to eat or shower or face life but he couldn't and they would eventually give up and leave. About a week after the letter arrived, Olivia stopped by to take Dante to Lulu's memorial service.

"I'm not going." Dante declared despondently.

"Honey, you have to go. You have to say goodbye to her. She would want you to say goodbye." Olivia encouraged. "Now go get in the shower and I'll get your suit ready."

Dante couldn't argue with her and she was right that Lulu would want him to say goodbye. No matter how hard it was he had to respect her memory. He slowly got up and shuffled off to the shower.

The memorial service was to be held at the Haunted Star. Lulu wasn't religious so they decided a church probably wasn't appropriate. They picked the place in Port Charles where she had her last happy memory and that was her wedding at the Haunted Star. Lucky, Ethan and Tracy had arranged the whole thing. Pictures of Lulu were everywhere as well as flower arrangements made up of all of her favorite flowers.

Just as everyone was seated to begin the service, Luke Spencer sauntered in to the Haunted Star. "Hey, what is this?" Luke looked around at all of the pictures of Lulu. "Why all of the pictures of Lulu? Did something happen?" He started to get concerned. The second Dante saw Luke, he got up from his chair and charged at him. "My wife is dead because of you!" he screamed and punched Luke in the face, knocking him down. Ethan, Lucky and Michael ran over and pulled him off. "Lulu would not want you to do this mate." Ethan tried to reason with him as he struggled to get at Luke.

Luke just sat there stunned. "What is he talking about? Where is my cupcake?"

"MY wife was murdered because you couldn't be found. Scott Baldwin killed her." Dante sneered at him. "He kidnapped her from our honeymoon and gave me three weeks to find you and exchange her life for yours. Of course once again when Lulu needed you, you weren't there and now she is dead."

Luke didn't know what to say. He knew he hadn't always been the best father but he loved his daughter. He would have tried to save her if he knew, he would have exchanged his life for hers.

"The only reason I'm not going to kill you right now, is because Lulu wouldn't want that." Dante said, suddenly calm. "Lulu asked me not to seek revenge and it is the least I can do since I couldn't do anything else. Please leave so we can honor her memory." Dante turned and walked back to his seat as everyone stared.

Devastated by the news of Lulu's death, Luke stumbled out of the Haunted Star. He would find and kill Scott Baldwin if it was the last thing he did.

Back inside, the memorial service was underway. It seemed like all of Port Charles had turned out for it. People got up to share memories of Lulu. Michael talked about how Lulu was the first person there when he woke up from his coma. She was the only person to treat him normally when everyone else treated him like he would break. He also went on to talk about how she took such good care of him while he was living at Dante's. Tracy talked about how Lulu wouldn't leave her side during the biotoxin scare.

To everyone's surprise, Carly got up next. Dante gave her a menacing look, letting her know what would happen if she stepped one foot out of line. "Lulu and I were not on good terms when she left us. I wasn't even invited to her wedding, with good reason. I did some terrible things that I wish I could take back. I wasted the last two years of her life being angry. That didn't stop Lulu from taking good care of Michael or being nice to Morgan or visiting with Josslyn in the park when she was out with Jax. She was still kind and wonderful to my children even though I was awful to her. They were lucky to have her and so was I." Carly started to cry and sat down.

Lucky got up next. "I wasn't a good brother to Lulu this year. I had my own tragedies and because if them I shut down. Our last words were angry and I will never forgive myself for that. Nor will I forgive myself for missing her wedding. Her family should have been there but we weren't. We were never there when she needed us because we were too wrapped up in our own problems to really see her. It is amazing that she turned out to be such a wonderful, caring, compassionate woman with such little guidance." One by one all of the people whose lives Lulu had touched got up to share their memories.

Dante went last. "Lulu was a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, she was everything. Since the moment I met her, she was taking care of me. She took me to the hospital after her brothers beat me up for flirting with her. She kept my undercover secret because she knew it could cost me my life and when it almost did, she was right there to pick up the pieces. I made some pretty bad mistakes along the way. I did some things that hurt her. She was still right there, loving and supporting me through everything. Getting Lulu to agree to marry me was a dream come true. Our wedding day was the happiest day of my life. I don't know how to live without her." Dante got choked up and couldn't continue. He brushed his hand along the picture of Lulu, vibrant and smiling, and sat down. The service ended shortly after and drinks were served while the guests mingled somberly.

Dante couldn't take anymore and decided to walk home. He stopped on the docks and sat on the bench they always used to sit on when they were getting to know each other. He didn't know what to do with himself without Lulu in his life. How was he supposed to go on?

**Three months later**

Three months after Lulu's memorial service Dante was trying his best to do what Lulu asked and get on with his life. He was honoring her wishes to not seek revenge but it was a daily struggle. He wanted nothing more than to track down Scott Baldwin and kill him with his bare hands but Lulu didn't want him to do that. Since he couldn't save her, the very least he could do is follow her wishes. He hadn't removed a single thing of hers from the loft. Her clothes were still hanging in the closet, her stilettos were still where she kicked them off by the couch.

He had thrown himself back into work just days after the memorial service. He needed something to distract him from the pain. He worked constantly and when he wasn't at work, he took cases home. He barely spoke other than to discuss a case with his fellow officers. Anyone who mentioned Lulu or tried to get him to talk about her was frozen out.

Luke disappeared immediately after he found out about Lulu. He didn't tell anyone where he was going but Lucky and Ethan knew he was trying to track down Scott to kill him. His baby girl was murdered and he was going to make someone pay.

One evening, Sonny was watching a news program and they had a story about a woman who was dumped at the door of a London ER with no identification and was in a coma. Nobody had come to claim her. They told the story about how she was bleeding from a stab wound and near death. The staff referred to her as Sleeping Beauty. They showed a picture of the woman and asked anyone to call the number if they knew anything about her. Sonny picked up the phone to call Dante. "Put on channel 7." He said without even saying hello. Dante sensed the urgency in Sonny's voice so he did what he was told. Dante nearly dropped the phone. The woman in the picture was Lulu. "Lulu! That's my Lulu!" Dante said. "I need to get to her. Lulu is alive!"

"I'll call the airport and have them get my plane ready. You call the number on the screen and let them know you are coming." Sonny instructed.

Dante hung up without even saying goodbye. He raced out the door and decided to call the hospital on the way to the airport. He couldn't risk someone else seeing that report and getting to her first.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The flight felt like an eternity. He just wanted to see her in person and make sure it was really her. Hours later, Dante arrived at St. Michael's Hospital in London. He rushed to the floor they had told him to go to on the phone. "I'm here to see my wife! Sleeping Beauty is my wife! Her name is Lulu Falconeri!" He brought Lulu's passport with him to show them that she was who he said she was.

"Finally! We were starting to think nobody cared about her." The nurse said.

"We thought she was dead. I want to see my wife right now!" Dante demanded.

The nurse led him into Lulu's room. His breath caught the moment he saw her. It was his Lulu. Alive. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered.

"The doctor will be in to discuss her condition with you shortly." The nurse said and left them alone.

Dante moved forward and sat down in the chair next to Lulu's bed. He took her hand in his and just stared at her. She looked peaceful and pale but she was alive. He kissed her hand and started to speak "Lulu, baby, it is me, Dante. I don't know if you can hear me. I love you. I'm so sorry about everything. I'm never going to let you out of my sight again. Please come back to me."

The doctor entered the room and Dante stood up to speak to him. "Is she going to wake up?" Dante asked.

"We honestly do not know. She was near death when she arrived here. She had lost a lot of blood and had a stab wound to the chest. The stab wound healed and she is physically healthy other than the coma but three months is a long time not to be responsive. There has been research that hearing a loved one's voice can help. You should sit and talk to her." The doctor said and then he left Dante alone with Lulu again.

He sat back down and grasped her hand. "Lulu, I'm here. Please wake up. I need to see your beautiful smile again. I have been so lost without you." He started to cry and kissed her hand. "I love you."

Dante sat by Lulu's side every day for the next month, talking to her, stroking her face and holding her hand. He didn't tell anyone else in the family that he found her and Sonny agreed to keep it a secret. The less people that knew, the less chance Scott Baldwin would find out that she was still alive. Hopefully, nobody had shown him the news report. He would read to her from the romance novels he knew she loved. He talked about everyone at home in Port Charles and how much they missed her too. He was starting to get discouraged but he never gave up. The staff would have to force him to go back to his hotel and rest because he didn't want to be away from her.

One day, after many spent by her bedside talking and hoping she would respond, he was recounting the story of their wedding when Dante felt her fingers move slightly. The hand he held in his squeezed him back weakly. Dante jumped up from his chair. "Lulu? Baby, can you hear me?" He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. He pulled his face back and Lulu slowly opened her eyes. "You came back to me" Dante cried tears of joy and kissed her hand. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Her throat was too dry. Dante quickly got her a drink of water. She sipped slowly and tried again. "Dante? Where are we? What happened?"

"We are in London at a hospital. Baby, do you remember being kidnapped?" Dante asked her gently.

It all started to come back to her. Scott holding her captive in that cell and then stabbing her in the chest. "How am I alive? He stabbed me."

"We aren't sure. The doctor said someone left you at the door of the ER four months ago. You have been in a coma ever since." Dante explained. "Sonny found out you were here from a news report. I just found you a month ago."

"Four months?" Lulu started to cry.

"Baby don't cry. You are okay and you came back to me. We thought we had lost you forever. I love you." Dante said as he wiped her tears. "Let me get the doctor and let him know you are awake." Dante went out in the hall and summoned the doctor. He came in and checked Lulu over while Dante nervously looked on.

"You are very lucky young lady. You were in rough shape when you arrived here. Now that you are awake, you should make a full recovery."

Lulu managed a weak smile. "When can I go home?"

"We are going to keep you in here a few more days for observation and then you can go home. It will probably take you a while to start walking again and to regain your strength. You haven't used your muscles in awhile."

Lulu nodded and the doctor left the room. Dante sat back down in the chair next to her bed and stared at her. "I thought I would never see you again. The idea of life without you was unbearable."

Lulu stared back. She didn't know what to say. This was all so surreal. One minute she was on her honeymoon have the best time of her life and the next she was being held captive and then stabbed. Just like that it was four months later.

"I promise you Lulu. Nothing like this is ever going to happen again. I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to protect you."

Lulu just nodded and tried not to start crying again.

Lulu spent the next few days trying to learn how to regain her strength so she could walk again. The doctors carefully monitored her to make sure she wouldn't have any relapses. Despite being in a coma for four months, her health was very good. Her body had time to heal and rest from the trauma of the stab wound. Dante was with her every step of the way. Holding her up while she tried to walk and making sure she had everything she needed. He had Sonny send a bag of her things from the loft so she could wear her own clothes. Lulu was very quiet and withdrawn during this whole process. Dante was trying to give her time to process everything and come out of her shell but it was hard.

A week later, Lulu was ready to leave the hospital. Dante helped her into a wheelchair and wheeled her out to a waiting SUV. They had armed guards surrounding the car as Dante helped Lulu in and followed behind her. He wasn't taking any chances on her safety with Scott Baldwin still out there. He decided it was too dangerous to go back to Port Charles and was taking Lulu to Sonny's villa in the Tuscan countryside of Italy. The property had armed guards at every entrance and around the perimeter plus a state of the art security system.

After a flight and long drive they arrived at the villa. The grounds were beautiful with a grove of Olive trees and a nice pool with lounge chairs surrounding. There must have been 100 guards patrolling the property. "Don't you think the guards are a little much?" Lulu asked.

"Baby, you were taken from me once. I'm not allowing that to happen again and if it takes 100 guards and hiding out here in Italy forever, then that is what it takes."

Dante insisted on carrying Lulu inside. "I never got to carry you over the threshold." He said as he set her down on the bed in their suite.

"So what do you want to do first? Are you tired? Do you want to go to bed? Watch some tv?" Dante asked nervously.

Lulu felt awkward and shy, which was silly. This was Dante. The love of her life and her husband.

"I think I would like to take a bath to wash the hospital off." Lulu requested.

"I will go get it ready for you." Dante said as he headed off to the bathroom. Lulu looked around. The house was really beautiful and thankfully, nothing like his house on the island. Dante came out and helped Lulu off of the bed. She still couldn't walk very well so she leaned heavily on him. Once they got into the bathroom, Dante didn't know what to do. "Do you want me to help you? Would you like me to leave the room?"

Lulu thought about it for a second. She felt slightly uncomfortable but knew she wouldn't be able to do it herself in her weakened state. "Would you mind helping me please?" She sat on the edge of the tub while he helped her undress. He took off her shirt and his gaze lingered on the scar of the stab wound right above her heart. "I know it is ugly." Lulu said, hoping it wouldn't make her permanently unattractive to her. Dante leaned in and kissed the scar softly as tears filled Lulu's eyes. "Nothing about you is or ever could be ugly." He helped her out of her yoga pants and panties and then lifted her into the tub. "This feels so nice. Thank you" Lulu sighed as she leaned back. He had put lilac scented bubble bath in the water and she could already feel the aroma relaxing her. After awhile of just watching her relax Dante said, "Here, let me wash your hair." Dante said as he got the shampoo. He lovingly washed her hair and turned on the faucet to rinse and then conditioned and rinsed again. "I'm turning into a prune, will you help me out?"

Dante lifted her out of the tub and wrapped her in a big fluffy towel. He dried her off and then helped her out to the bedroom to put on panties and a short nightgown. Once Lulu was dressed for bed, Dante went to take a quick shower. Lulu was settled into bed when he came out dressed in a pair of boxer briefs. "Would it be better if I slept in another room? You are still healing." Dante asked nervously. "Don't be silly, you can sleep here in the bed." Relieved, he climbed into bed. "You have no idea how much I missed this. I would wake up in the night sometimes and reach for you to pull you close. Only you weren't there." They both lay on their backs, staring up at the ceiling. Dante wasn't sure if he should try to hold her or not. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable, he could tell she wasn't feeling quite right.

"Dante, what if we can't get back what we lost? What if we are never the same? What if I'm never the same?" Lulu asked in the darkness. He reached out and grabbed her hand. "Baby, it is going to take some time for you to heal not only physically but emotionally. You have been through a terrible ordeal but we can get through this. We are getting a second chance. I love you so much"

Lulu tentatively scooted over closer to Dante and laid her head on his chest as he put his arm around her. "I love you too Dante."

The next morning Lulu woke up to Dante staring at her. "Dante, did you sleep at all?"

"Don't you worry about that." Dante said.

"Honey, you have an alarm system and there are guards outside. I'm perfectly safe here with you. I don't want you to make yourself sick by not sleeping."

"It will pass Lu, just give me some time. What would you like to do today?" He asked changing the subject.

"I think it is time that you tell me what happened after you all thought I was gone. Did my dad ever show up? Does my family even know what happened?"

"Lucky came back to town shortly before you….left us." Dante said carefully. "Your dad showed up at your memorial service."

Lulu was shocked. "There was a memorial service?"

"Lulu, we thought you weren't coming back. We had to honor your memory. It was one of the most miserable days of my life. Your father showed up just as we were about to get started. I punched him." Dante said sheepishly. "He hasn't been seen since then."

Lulu didn't know how to process that information. It was just like her dad to show up too late and then disappear again when he didn't want to deal.

"What about my mother?" she asked

"After your memorial service, I flew to Paris to tell her. She was very upset and had a setback. She is doing better now and she has plenty of security around so Scott can't get to her. We will tell her you are okay as soon as Scott is found. We can't take any chances by telling her before that."

"I don't want to put her in danger by telling her. I guess it is best if I just stay here out of everyone's lives until I'm not a danger to them." Lulu sighed.

"So what would you like to do today?" Dante asked again.

"I'm feeling kind of tired still. Would you mind just laying here with me for a little while?"

Dante squeezed Lulu tight. "You know I take any opportunity to be close to you." Lulu sighed as she cuddled into Dante. She wondered if she would ever truly feel safe again. There used to be nowhere she felt safer than in Dante's arms. She didn't blame him at all for what happened but it proved that not even he could keep her safe. He would move heaven and earth for her and it still wasn't enough. She had been stolen right out of their honeymoon bed. She just wanted to go to sleep and wake up back on the island before any of this happened. She was the happiest she had ever been then. Newly married and completely in love with her husband. She burrowed into Dante's side and fell back asleep.

As the days went on, Lulu spent a lot of time sleeping and doing exercises to regain her strength. Swimming was a good way to regain her strength without putting too much pressure on her muscles so she made good use of the pool. She was still withdrawn and quiet most of the time and Dante was worried. He didn't want to push her to open up to him about the happenings of the last few months but he felt like she was shutting him out. She knew Dante felt like she was closing herself off to him but she just couldn't bring herself to talk about everything that had happened. She tried to busy herself with various activities. The Italian chef at the villa was teaching her how to cook authentic Italian meals. In no time she knew how to make all of Dante's favorites and the meals were actually good. Cooking made her feel better and like she was making something for Dante out of love. If she couldn't share her feelings with him, she could at least do this.

Every evening they had elaborate dinners by candlelight in the elegant dining room. Lulu would explain how she and the chef made the meal. Dante would tell stories from the old neighborhood. They didn't talk of anything important but it was Dante's favorite time of day. Even though there was always that elephant in the room, these dinners felt like they were almost their old selves, just for a short while.

The other issue was while they were sleeping in the same bed, they had not been intimate since the night that Lulu was kidnapped. Dante didn't want to pressure her and was waiting for some kind of signal that she was ready and Lulu took his not making a move as a sign that he wasn't as attracted to her like that anymore.

They went on like this for few weeks. Enjoying Sonny's villa as best they could under the circumstances. Lulu took to taking a swim every afternoon before cooking with the chef. One afternoon she came up after her swim and found Dante dozing on the bed.

She was so happy he was resting. She was starting to really worry that he was going to make himself sick by not sleeping and constantly worrying about her. Lulu showered and wrapped herself in a towel. She hung up her wet bathing suit to dry and then went out into the bedroom to get some clothes to wear.

She tried to be quiet closing the drawers after taking out her clothes but he stirred anyway. She had just put her panties and bra on when he said "Damn, if only I woke up a minute earlier."

"I'm sorry I woke you! I was trying to be so quiet."

"Baby, you can wake me up any time if I get to see you in that." He said heatedly, referring to the black lace bra and thong she had just put on.

Lulu blushed and decided that now was the time to make her move. Dante was shocked when she climbed on the bed and straddled him. She leaned down and kissed his forehead then his eyelids and his cheeks until finally settling on his lips. She licked the seam of his lips and then he opened his mouth to allow her tongue entry. His hands rubbed her thighs and then reached around her to squeeze her ass. She could feel him stirring in his pants as she slowly rubbed herself against him.

She pulled back from the kiss and looked into Dante's eyes. "Make love to me Dante."

He leaned up to kiss her again and rolled them over so he was on top of her between her legs. He quickly scrambled off of the bed and she watched as he removed his clothes as fast as he could. She loved looking at his body. He was so muscular and sexy. He was down to his boxer briefs when he climbed back on the bed, his hard-on evident through the thin fabric. He took his time kissing her mouth and then moving down to her neck, licking and sucking the way he knew she loved. He reached behind her and unclasped her bra, slowly removing it to reveal her perfect breasts. He leaned down and kissed and sucked her breasts. First one and then the other. She moaned and pushed herself against him. Deciding she couldn't wait anymore to feel him, she rolled them over once more and stripped off Dante's boxers and then hurriedly removed her panties and straddled him. She slowly rubbed her wet center up and down his hard shaft. He groaned and grabbed her ass. She reached down between them and took his hard shaft in her hand, rubbing up and down a few times before centering herself over it and putting it inside her. She moaned loudly at the intimate contact as she settled over his cock. At first she didn't move, just enjoyed their connection, enjoyed the feeling of him inside of her after all of these months. Dante looked up at her in awe. She was so incredibly beautiful, naked and riding him. He missed this so much. The intimate connection. Looking into each others eyes while they were joined together. He sat up and wrapped her legs around his waist. She put her arms around his shoulders and they moved together slowly. He kissed her passionately, his tongue dancing with hers. "I love you Lulu. I love you so much." He breathed into her mouth. She pulled back and looked into his eyes "I love you too. I missed you.". They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments still moving together slowly. Lulu felt like he could see right into her soul and he felt the same about her. They were "them" again. Dante turned them over so he was on top, keeping her legs wrapped around his waist. He could no longer keep the slow pace and his thrusts grew more insistent. They were both panting and moaning. "Harder Dante" Lulu moaned and he complied, slamming his cock into her over and over. His tongue lapped at hers and he could feel her muscles tensing up. He grabbed her ass pulling her against him with each thrust trying to get as deep as possible. They fucked frantically like that until Lulu screamed his name as she came hard, clenching around him. He followed right after, shaking as he shot inside her. She wrapped her legs tighter around him to keep him inside as they slowly came down from their high, kissing with lazy open mouth kisses. Minutes later after they had both relaxed, Dante rolled off of her and leaned on his elbow facing her. She turned to face him to as he lazily ran his hand up and down her side and around to squeeze her ass. "I really missed doing that with you." Dante grinned. She reached up to brush the hair out of his eyes and cupped his cheek. "I missed doing that with you too." She smiled. "I was worried you didn't want me like that anymore."

"Lulu! How could you even think that?" Dante was appalled. "I didn't want to pressure you into anything you weren't ready to do. I'm so sorry if I gave you the impression that I wasn't attracted to you anymore. I have been wanting to do this since I found you again." He leaned in to give her a long and passionate kiss. He then pulled her to him, intertwining her legs with his and wrapping his arms around her. "I love you." He said and kissed the top of her head.

Lulu lay intertwined with Dante, feeling surround by his love and decided she was ready to talk.

"Dante? I'm ready to talk about what happened."

Dante squeezed her even tighter. "I'm here to listen."

Lulu took a deep breath as she lay with her head on his chest. "I woke up on a plane wearing only the sheet from the bed. Scott Baldwin was staring at me. I felt so dirty knowing he had taken me, naked, out of OUR bed where we had just made love." Dante tried to keep from tensing up at the thought of it and rubbed Lulu's back softly. Lulu continued "He tossed me some clothes and I got dressed under the sheet. I asked him why I was there and he told me he wanted revenge for Logan. He was angry that I was so happy when his son wouldn't even get that chance. I asked him if he did anything to you and he said no. I was so relieved that you were okay. He then explained his plan to kill a Spencer, either me or my father. I knew right then that I was doomed. My dad would never exchange his life for mine and I would never want him to." Dante didn't say anything. He wanted to give her the chance to get this all out.

"He injected me again on the plane so I would pass out and not see where we landed. I woke up in that cell in the dungeon with my leg shackled to the wall. He was taunting me all of the time. Telling me how you were frantic to find Luke. I tried to sleep as much as possible because I would dream of you."

Lulu took a few more deep breaths. This next part was going to be hard to get through. "Whenever I had to use the restroom or take a shower, he would watch me. I can still feel his eyes on me sometimes." Lulu started to cry and Dante squeezed her tight. This man was going to die for what he did to Lulu. There was no question about it.

Through her tears, Lulu finished her story. "On the last day, he came in and told me to write you a goodbye letter. Then at midnight, he came in with a knife and stabbed me. I was so weak by that point that I couldn't even fight back. I blacked out so I have no idea who brought me to the hospital or how I lived. The next thing I remember is waking up to you."

Lulu felt like a weight had been lifted off of her finally after sharing the details of her ordeal with Dante.

Dante finally spoke. "I'm so sorry Lulu. I'm so sorry that this happened to you and that I couldn't stop it."

"Dante, I know I need to let go of what happened to me and move forward. You need to do that too. You need to let go of the guilt because you couldn't have prevented this. We never could have seen it coming."

"Baby, I promise you, I'll try."

"I think the next thing we need to do is take our life back. We need to go back to Port Charles and let everyone know I'm alive." Lulu declared.

Dante sat up in bed. "Lulu we can't! It isn't safe. Not until Scott is caught or killed." He stated firmly.

Lulu sat up to face him. "Dante, we can't hide forever and there are no leads at all on where he might be. We can't let him take everything from us. You have family at home. There are people that love you and miss you."

"Lu, can you just give me a couple more weeks? I promise you, if we don't have any information on Scott in a couple of weeks, we can go home. I just want a couple more weeks alone with you where I know you are safe." He pleaded.

Lulu couldn't say no when he looked at her like that. "Ok" she acquiesced. "A couple more weeks alone with you doesn't sound so bad." She grinned and gave him a soft kiss.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

After their heart to heart talk, Dante and Lulu finally relaxed with each other and started to really enjoy Sonny's villa. It didn't erase what happened but they felt closer and less disconnected. Dante still spent several hours a day making calls and doing research trying to find Scott but the rest of the time he devoted solely on spending time with his wife. Lulu was now healthy and had regained most of her strength back. They swam together, had cooking lessons with the chef together and took long walks around the grounds just talking and laughing.

They had reconnected in the bedroom as well. Since that first time making love right before their talk, they couldn't get enough of each other. There were so many guards around so they weren't as free to do it wherever they felt like it and they ended up retiring to their bedroom quite often. Their appetite for each other was insatiable.

One afternoon a few days before the two weeks were up, after a particularly rigorous session of making love, they were laying on the bed trying to catch their breath. Dante finally was able to speak again and he decided now was the time to bring up asking for a little more time. "Baby, I'm going to ask you something and I don't want you to get upset."

"Sure, wait until I'm completely blissed out from what we just did and then hit me with the questions." Lulu teased.

"Hey, my mama didn't raise no fool." Dante laughed. "So, how do you feel about staying here a little while longer? I know I promised just two more weeks but that time is almost up and I still don't have anything. Plus, I really don't feel like I have had enough time alone with you. We have four months to make up. If we go home, it isn't going to be about just us anymore. "

Lulu sighed. She knew he had a point. As soon as they got home, everyone would find out she was alive and that was going to take some explaining. She also had to consider the safety of the people around her. Once she reemerged in Port Charles, Scott would know for sure that she is alive.

She turned to Dante and found him staring at her expectantly. "Ok, we can stay a little longer. I don't want to put anyone in danger and I could use a little more alone time with my hot husband." She said as she rubbed her hand up and down his bare chest.

"I love you" Dante said as he peppered her face, neck and chest with kisses. "Now let's take a little nap so we can go another round."

Scott Baldwin was feeling pretty good about himself. He had succeeded in making the Spencers pay finally after all of these years. He sat on a beach in Tahiti, sipping a mai tai and remembering how he stabbed Lulu Spencer and left her to bleed to death in that old abandoned castle outside of London. He wondered if anyone ever found her body. It didn't really matter if they did or not. She was dead and the Spencers were destroyed. There would be no coming back from losing their only daughter. Just like he had been destroyed when he lost Logan. He knew from keeping tabs on Laura that she had a big setback when Dante came to break the news. Nobody knew where Luke went but that wasn't surprising. He always disappeared when things got difficult. He would reemerge eventually and probably declare revenge, not that he would be able to find Scott to get it.

Nikolas Cassadine sat a few lounge chairs away watching Scott Baldwin relax in the sun. "How dare he sit there looking so smug after he murdered my sister?" Nik thought to himself. Nikolas heard about Lulu's death about a week after her memorial service. He hated that she died not knowing how sorry he was for their last encounter. He said some terrible things to her about saving her as a child and he wished that he could take them back. He still had not made contact with anyone in the family. He was ashamed of himself for the way he treated her and for not being there in her final moments. He was going to do what he could to make up for that now. He was going to get revenge on Scott Baldwin if it was the last thing he ever did.

Luke Spencer stood behind the bar at the beach club serving drinks. He was disguised as a bartender. He had been tracking Scott for months since Lulu's death and he finally found him at this beach resort in Tahiti. Luke was waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He could easily poison Scott's drink but he wanted Scott to look him in the eye as he died. Scott murdered his daughter. His little cupcake. He was going to pay for that if it was the last thing Luke ever did. He wasn't there for Lulu in life but he would do this for her in death.

Back in Italy, Dante was relishing the moments he had with his wife. He was watching her sleep peacefully next to him, her hair splayed out on the pillow, her arm wrapped around his waist. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was. He finally understood the hell she went through watching him nearly die in the hospital twice. It all made sense to him that she was so scared after that second shooting and he felt terrible that he wasn't more understanding of her feelings at the time. If they ever went back to Port Charles and he returned to work, he vowed to be much more careful on the job. He wouldn't go into any situations without back-up, he would wear a vest, whatever it took to keep her from having to go through that again.

Lulu stirred next to him and opened her eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked when she caught him staring at her intently.

"I was just thinking about how sorry I am that I wasn't more understanding with how scared you were after my shooting. I had no idea how you felt until I lost you. I'm so sorry I put you through that not once but twice." Dante brushed the hair out of her face.

"Dante, it is okay. I wish you didn't have to lose me to understand what I went through. I hope neither one of us have to experience that ever again." She leaned in and kissed him soundly. "Now let's go shower so we can help the chef make dinner."

Dante groaned "Can't we just stay here?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her.

"We have to get out of bed sometime. I don't want you growing bored with me." Lulu teased as she squirmed out of his grasp and jumped out of bed. She rushed off to the shower with Dante close at her heels.

Dante took her against the wall of the shower before they soaped each other up and washed off. They got dressed and headed down to the kitchen to see what they would be learning to cook with the chef for dinner. Dante wished they could live this life forever. He missed his family and life back in Port Charles but here he knew she was safe and there was nothing to interrupt their bliss. He knew he was going to have to call Lulu's family soon and tell them that she was alive. It wasn't fair for him to keep her all to himself much longer. Lucky, Laura and Ethan at least deserved to know.

A few evenings later after dinner, Lulu and Dante agreed it was time to call Lucky. They would need his help to keep Lulu safe when they did eventually return to Port Charles.

Dante dialed Lucky's cell phone number from the untraceable house phone in Sonny's office.

"Hello?" Lucky answered.

"Lucky, it's Dante."

"Dante! Where have you been man? You disappeared from Port Charles weeks ago without a word. Sonny told your mom not to worry but you know she is frantic."

"Lucky, I have to tell you something but you have to promise me that you WILL NOT tell anyone. Not even your dad."

"I haven't seen or talked to my dad since the memorial service. I don't really want to see or talk to him either."

"Promise me!" Dante demanded.

"Alright man, I promise, now what is the big secret?"

"Lulu is alive."

Lucky almost dropped the phone. "What the hell are you talking about? Don't fuck with me Dante. That's just cruel."

"She is alive Lucky. She is standing right next to me. Someone dumped her at a hospital in London. She was in a coma for four months. We have been in hiding for weeks because I don't want Scott to find her."

Lucky could not believe what Dante was telling him. "Let me talk to her right now!"

Dante handed Lulu the phone. "Lucky?" Lulu said.

"Lulu, oh my god! You are alive."

"Yes, it is really me. Dante found me. I'm so sorry we didn't call you sooner. We just didn't want to put anyone in danger."

"Lulu don't apologize. Scott is still out there and he is going to be even more revengeful when he finds out you lived. Don't even tell me where you are in case this line isn't safe. I can't believe you are alive. Lu, I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. I promise when we are all back in Port Charles, I'm going to be the big brother that you deserve." Lucky promised.

"Lucky, it is okay. We'll be okay. I'm going to put Dante back on the phone."

"Lucky? We are going to need your help when we come back to Port Charles. I will not let anything happen to Lulu again."

"Anything at all you guys need, I'm here."

"Lulu agreed to stay here with me a couple more weeks but after that she wants to go home and try to get our life back. It is going to be a lot harder to keep her safe once Scott knows she is alive. " Dante explained.

"Call me before you make any moves." Lucky said.

"One more thing Lucky. Can you please tell my mom that you spoke to me and I'm okay? I hate to think of her worrying but I can't put her in danger by calling her. I will explain it all when we get back."

"Sure thing man. Tell Lulu I love her."

They hung up and Lulu took a deep breath. "Well, we made the first move in getting our life back." Lulu said as she hugged Dante and rested her head on his shoulder.

Days later, Scott's lovely afternoon on the beach was interrupted by a phone call. "What?" he answered rather rudely. He didn't like being bothered while he was on vacation.

Both Nik and Luke, unbeknownst to the other, tried to listen in to his conversation. They couldn't hear anything he said but suddenly Scott was packing up and storming back to his room. Nik and Luke both went to follow him when they suddenly became aware of each other. Luke motioned Nik to follow him down another hallway.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Luke demanded.

"What the hell do you think I'm doing here?" Nik shot back.

"You get out of here Nik. I'm going to take care of Scott." Luke proclaimed.

"Like hell you are. I can't let him get away with what he did to Lulu." Nik replied angrily.

While they were arguing, Scott was packing up his things and quickly checking out. He headed to the airport and boarded a plane to Port Charles.

Once Luke and Nik figured out Scott had left the hotel, they hurried to the airport to board Nik's jet to also head to Port Charles. They needed to figure out what Scott was up to before he could cause more damage.

Two more weeks had passed and Dante still had no new leads on Scott. He couldn't put it off any longer. They were packing up to head back to Port Charles tomorrow. Lulu was nervous about seeing everyone who thought she was dead. Dante was terrified that she would be in danger as soon as it was revealed that she was alive. They spent their last night making love and then Dante held Lulu as she slept. He watched her breathe and prayed that he would be able to keep her safe once they got back to Port Charles.

The next morning they boarded Sonny's jet and headed home.


	16. Chapter 16

Author's note:

Thanks again everyone for the reviews. I really do appreciate them very much and they encourage me to keep going on this story. Just a forewarning that this chapter gets a little naughty ;)

**Chapter 16**

Dante and Lulu arrived back in Port Charles in the middle of the afternoon. Lulu couldn't wait to get back to the loft after all of these months. She missed their home. Sonny arranged for a car along with plenty of guards to escort them. He had also installed a state of the art security system in the loft. Dante hated taking advantage of Sonny's money and mob connections but keeping Lulu safe was the most important thing.

They arrived back at the loft and entered after the guards did a final sweep of the place. Two guards would be outside the door at all times and others would be patrolling the perimeter. Their plan was to invite people over one at a time and spring the news on them that Lulu was alive. Olivia would be first since she was already in a panic about Dante going missing for so long. Lulu was feeling extremely tired after their long trip and really just wanted to go to sleep but she knew Dante was anxious to see his mother.

"Why don't you call Olivia now? " She suggested.

Dante took a deep breath and dialed the phone "Ma, it's me."

Dante was silent for a long time after that. Lulu assumed Olivia was lecturing him on disappearing like he did.

"Ma, I'm really sorry but if you come over here right now, you will understand why I couldn't call."

Minutes later, Olivia was knocking at the door. Dante went to let her in and Lulu stood by the couch, not sure what to do. It wasn't the sort of thing where you could jump out and yell "Surprise, I'm not dead!"

Olivia came bursting in carrying a casserole dish as soon as the door was open. "Dante, why are there guards out there and where the hell have you been?"

The moment she saw Lulu, the dish went crashing to the ground. "Lulu! Dante, it's Lulu!" she said as she hit Dante on the shoulder.

"Ma, I know it is Lulu. I brought her here."

"Hi Olivia" Lulu said timidly. She didn't want to shock the woman any further than she already was.

"Oh honey." Olivia said as she came rushing forward to give Lulu a hug. "How is this possible? We thought you were gone. Dante how did this happen? How long have you known? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Ma! Give us a minute and we will explain." Dante said exasperated.

Olivia sat quietly in the chair waiting for her explanation.

Lulu sat on the couch next to Dante and decided to start. "Someone left me at a hospital in London after Scott tried to kill me. I was in a coma for three months before Sonny saw a news report asking if anyone knew anything about me. Sonny called Dante and he came to find me. He sat by my side every day for a month until I finally came out of my coma." Lulu explained as she grabbed Dante's hand. "We have been hiding out in one of Sonny's houses in Italy since then."

"I didn't think it was safe for Lulu to come back since Scott is still out there. I still don't but Lulu wanted to get our life back and I can't say I blame her. I'm really sorry I couldn't tell you. I didn't want to put you in danger. Scott is going to come after us again as soon as he finds out that Lulu is alive." Dante explained.

"It's okay honey, I understand now. What's important is that Lulu is alive and back home here where she belongs." Olivia looked at Lulu. "To be honest, I wasn't sure how my son was going to make it without you, he was so lost."

Lulu's eyes filled with tears "He doesn't have to now. Everything is fine and I'm back home."

Olivia got up "I'll just be cleaning up this mess here. Do you want me to make you something else?"

Dante looked at Lulu. She looked pale and exhausted. He knew she needed to rest and probably wanted to be left alone.

"Ma, if you wouldn't mind, we had a long day of travel today and I think Lulu really could use some rest. Can we arrange a dinner one night this week instead? We could even cook for you. We learned in Italy."

Olivia eyed him suspiciously. "Fine, but I'll bring a back-up meal we can heat up just in case."

Dante laughed "Okay, whatever you want Ma"

She hugged Lulu goodbye and Dante walked her out. Once they were outside, Olivia hugged Dante and tried not to cry tears of joy. "Dante, I'm so happy for you to get this second chance with the woman you love."

"Ma, I have never been more grateful for anything in my entire life. Getting a second chance at life with Lulu is beyond anything I ever could have hoped for."

Olivia hugged Dante one more time and left. Dante had a little chat with the guards outside to make sure they knew their instructions. By the time Dante came back inside and set the security alarm, Lulu had already stripped down to her panties, climbed into bed and fallen fast asleep. He watched her sleep for a few minutes and decided to join her. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed in behind her. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close, throwing one leg over both of hers and burying his face in her hair. She sighed contentedly and cuddled back into him as she fell back into her deep sleep. Dante couldn't believe how lucky he was to be back home with the love of his life in his arms. He drifted off to sleep while counting his blessings.

A few hours later, Lulu woke up to find herself tangled up with Dante. She had somehow turned around so she was facing him. His leg was still slung over hers and his arm was around her waist with his hand down the back of her panties resting on her ass. She looked at his handsome face, sleeping peacefully. It had taken awhile before he was able to sleep through the night again with her in bed. He had taken to possessively holding her while he slept as if to keep her from getting taken again. Not that she minded. She slept the best when he held her like that. She loved to feel his hard body pressed against her soft curves.

She decided it was time for him to wake up or they would never be able to sleep tonight and get back on the right time zone schedule. She knew just how she would wake him up. She kissed his neck and then kissed her way down his chest as he stirred. She gently pushed him onto his back and climbed between his legs. She kissed his stomach and around the elastic waist of his boxer briefs. She then moved further down and kissed his bulge through his underwear. She could already feel him hardening as she kissed and fondled him through the thin fabric. He was waking up now and started to moan as she touched him. She moved from between his legs to remove his boxer briefs and then settled back into place. She kissed her way up his shaft and then swirled her tongue around the tip. She slowly took him into her mouth inch by inch until she couldn't take anymore. He was fully awake now and put his hands in her hair, helping to guide her head as she bobbed up and down. She let him slip out of her mouth as she kissed her way down to his balls. She suckled on them gently as he writhed beneath her in pleasure. She kissed and licked her way back up to take him in her mouth again. She bobbed up and down until she felt him shudder and then let go into her mouth. She took every last drop and then slowly removed her mouth from him. He opened his eyes and pulled her up from between his legs to lay on top of him. He kissed her hard. "You can wake me up like that any time."

Lulu giggled. "I didn't want you to sleep too long because then we'll never get on the right time zone." She grinned down at him. He looked so satisfied and happy. She loved to be able to put that look on his face.

He grabbed her ass through her panties and squeezed as he rolled them over. Her breasts were pressed against his chest and he could feel her hard nipples rubbing against him. He kissed her with slow, open mouth kisses. His tongue lapping at hers as he enjoyed the feeling of their bodies pressed together. He moved his mouth down to her neck where he suckled in that spot he knew she loved. She moaned and writhed underneath him, rubbing her center against him. He could already feel her wetness through her panties. "You are so wet already."

"Getting you off turns me on so much." She moaned.

He kissed his way down between her breasts, down her stomach and to her panties. He inhaled the scent of her arousal putting his nose right up against her center through her damp panties. "You always smell so good baby. Good enough to eat." He pushed her legs together and ripped her panties down, throwing them off the bed. He then spread her legs far apart, exposing her most intimate parts to him. He leered at her as she lay there spread open for him. He ran his finger lightly up and down her dripping wet slit as she gasped. He leaned down and inhaled her scent again before placing light kisses all around. He spread her open and slowly licked as she put her hands in his hair to try and force him against her. He resisted and continued to lick her slowly as she moved beneath him, mindless with need. "Dante" she moaned. He finally buried his face into her, licking and sucking voraciously. She ground her hips against his mouth as she moaned in pleasure. He suckled on her clit and she came hard, screaming out his name over and over. He kept on kissing and licking as she came down from her intense high. He looked up at her from the juncture of her thighs and grinned. "I love hearing you scream my name like that." He sat up and looked down at her, naked and flushed. He was already hard for her again, despite only having had a few minutes to recover. She watched as he stroked himself lightly and licked her lips. She knew this was far from over. He teased her with the tip of his cock against her still sensitive folds, rubbing it back and forth around her opening. She tried to push herself onto him but he kept teasing. He wanted to hear her say it. He took her legs and pushed them up over his shoulders but still didn't enter her. He continued to tease until finally she gave him what he wanted. "Fuck me Dante! Now Please!"

That's all it took and he plunged inside. They were both so turned on already that he took her hard and fast. Pounding into her while she bucked back up to meet him. She was so open to him in this position and he went deep inside. They were both moaning loudly and then her moans turned into screams while his turned into grunts as they frantically moved together trying to reach the finish line together. A few more hard thrusts and Lulu came again with a scream. Dante followed right behind, emptying inside of her and then collapsing on top of her. Her legs fell from his shoulders and she wrapped them around his waist to keep him inside, still lightly grinding her hips against him. After a few minutes of catching their breath, Dante pulled out of Lulu and rolled off of her.

"Wow." He said as he pulled her in close.

"Wow indeed." She laughed as she kissed his chest. "Oh my god!" she said suddenly and sat up. "Do you think the guards outside the door heard us? I forgot they were there!"

Dante laughed loudly. "I'm sure they did. You weren't exactly being quiet."

"I'm so embarrassed!" Lulu was mortified. She couldn't believe she had forgotten they were there. She had just been screaming Dante's name over and over.

"What is there to be embarrassed about? Now they know how good I am in bed." Dante grinned as he teased her.

She slapped his chest "How good YOU are? What about me? You weren't exactly keeping quiet either with all that grunting and moaning."

"Fine, how good we are." He conceded as he pulled her back to lay down next to him.

"I don't think I will be able to look either one of them in the eye." Lulu said, still embarrassed.

"That's fine. You shouldn't be looking at them anyway. You're mine." He said as he squeezed her tight.

Lulu just laughed at his possessiveness. She knew he was right. She was his.

They cuddled in bed for a little while longer and then got up to take a shower. Once they were dressed, Lulu asked Dante to invite Sonny over so she could thank him.

Across town at the Haunted Star, Luke and Nik had gathered Ethan and Lucky to talk to them about Scott. They followed him back to Port Charles from Tahiti and wanted to know what he was up to.

Lucky was confused when he saw Luke and Nik arrive together. "What are you two doing together? Nik we haven't heard from you in months. You missed Lulu's memorial and everything."

"We ran into each other when we were both in Tahiti tracking Scott Baldwin" Nik explained. "He is going to pay for what he did to Lulu."

"About that. There is something you guys need to know about Lulu." Lucky knew they were going to find out soon now that Lulu was back in Port Charles. He may as well tell them now. "Lulu is alive. Someone dumped her at a hospital in London and she was in a coma. She came out of it awhile ago and she and Dante have been hiding out ever since. They just arrived back in Port Charles today."

Ethan, Nik and Luke all just stood there staring at him.

"Cowboy, now is not the time to be messing around with your father" Luke warned. "My daughter is alive?"

"Yes, dad. She is alive!"

"I want to see her." Nik demanded. "I want to see her right now."

"I do too. Where is she? At that loft with Dante?"

Sonny arrived at the loft shortly after Dante's call with a bouquet of flowers for Lulu. He shook Dante's hand and kissed Lulu on the cheek. "It is so good to see you back home Lulu."

"Sonny, I just wanted to say thank you for everything these last few months. You have been so generous with the use of your plane and houses. Plus providing all of this security to keep me safe."

"Lulu, I'm just happy my son is getting another chance with the woman he loves. I'll do whatever it takes to help him keep you safe." Sonny promised.

They were startled by a banging on the door. Dante went to open it and saw the guards struggling with Ethan, Nik and Luke while Lucky tried to explain to them that they were Lulu's family. Dante told the guards it was okay and let Ethan, Nik, Luke and Lucky into the loft.

Lulu stood up from the couch and they were all speechless. There she was, standing in the living room as if nothing had happened. Lucky rushed forward to give her a hug. "Welcome home Lu."

Ethan was next. "I can't believe it is really you!" he said as he hugged her.

Nik and Luke were hanging back, not sure how she would react to seeing them.

"What are you two even doing here?" Lulu asked them angrily. "You both made it clear that you didn't want anything to do with me. "

Nik spoke first. "Lulu, I'm so sorry for the things I said to you in Greece and for not being there for you."

"Nik, you said you wished you had a choice on saving my life or not. You made it clear where you stand. Let's not pretend otherwise." Lulu was already exhausted by this meeting and felt a little light headed. Dante could see she was struggling and went over to stand next to her.

Luke finally spoke up. "Cupcake? I'm sorry for everything that happened."

"Dad, I'm not your cupcake anymore so please don't call me that. We are nothing to each other now. Just because you are feeling a little guilty over what happened to me, doesn't mean you have to pretend. I think it would be best for both of us if you left and didn't come back. Just like Nik, you made it clear that you didn't want to be my family so you are excused from that duty."

Lulu's words stung but he knew he deserved them. There was nothing he could say to her now that would make up for what a horrible father he had been.

"We need to tell you something important. Scott Baldwin is here in Port Charles. Nik and I followed him here from Tahiti. It is no coincidence that he arrived here right before you did. I think he knows you are alive." Luke explained cautiously.

"Scott is back and he already knows?" Lulu exclaimed. Before she could get another word out, she suddenly fainted. Dante could see her teetering and reached out to catch her before she fell. He quickly lifted her up and laid her gently on the bed. A minute or two later she came to and found Dante, Luke, Sonny, Lucky, Ethan and Nik all staring at her with concerned faces.

"Baby, are you okay? You fainted. Should we take you to a hospital? Do you have pain anywhere? I think we should take you to a hospital." Dante rambled nervously.

"Dante, I'm fine. I just got a little overwhelmed. If you all wouldn't mind, I think it would be best if you left. Lucky and Ethan, we will call you soon. Sonny, thank you again for everything." She said nothing to Luke or Nik.

Dante ushered everyone out and rushed back to the bed where Lulu was sitting up. "Are you sure you are okay? "

"I just wasn't expecting Scott to find out so soon. Plus seeing my dad and Nik again. I wasn't really prepared for that."

Dante rubbed her back "I guess we don't have to break the news to everyone one by one now."

Lulu just sat there staring into space. She was overwhelmed with all of this. First seeing her dad and Nik again unexpectedly and then the news that Scott was already here in Port Charles. It was too much. She was stupid to think they could get their life back. After a few minutes she finally spoke.

"I'm sorry Dante, you were right. We shouldn't have come back here. It was stupid of me to think that we could get our life back to the way it was."

"Lu, don't do this to yourself. We couldn't hide out forever, you were right about that. We need to face this and end it for good." Dante tried to reassure her.

Truth be told, Dante was terrified hearing Scott was around. He just didn't want Lulu to see it and get more upset.

"Why don't we order some dinner and watch movie? We can be normal at least for tonight. A normal married couple spending the night in." Dante suggested.

"That sounds nice. I would love a burger from Kelly's. It has been so long." Lulu suddenly realized she was really hungry.

"I'll order the food and you find us a movie. I'll even watch a chick flick."

Lulu and Dante ate their dinner from Kelly's and then cuddled on the couch to watch a movie. Lulu picked an action movie because she knew Dante liked them and they usually kept her entertained. She was fast asleep in Dante's arms 30 minutes into the movie. He didn't mind. He loved being home with his wife in his arms on the couch. Even if this peace was only temporary, he was going to enjoy it. Tomorrow he would have to track down Scott Baldwin and kill him. There wasn't any other alternative.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note:** Thanks again everyone for the reviews! This story will be 20 chapters plus an epilogue so there are 4 more left.

**Chapter 17**

Scott Baldwin met his informant on the docks, where all clandestine meetings happen in Port Charles.

"Hello Siobhan. What do you have for me?"

"Lulu is back in Port Charles. Luke, Nik, Ethan and Lucky are all back in town as well. They just went to see her at Dante's apartment. They weren't there for very long and didn't look too happy when they left." Siobhan said.

"I want to know how the hell she survived. I left her bleeding to death on the floor of an abandoned castle in London. Someone must have betrayed me."

"I don't know but I can't stay here too much longer. Someone will see me and I'm supposed to be Lucky's dead Irish wife."

"Just keep an eye on them for a little longer. The problem will be taken care of soon enough."

* * *

><p>While Dante was watching the movie with Lulu asleep in his arms, his cell phone beeped. He had a text message from Lucky:<p>

_Meet us at the Star as soon as you can get away._

Dante hated the idea of sneaking out behind Lulu's back but he was going to need help to get Scott and he didn't want to worry Lulu anymore than she already was. He carefully got up off the couch, untangling himself from her and then carried her to the bed and tucked her in. He left her a note saying he went out for a walk in case she woke up. He didn't want her to be scared when he wasn't there. He set the security alarm and talked to the guards on the way out. He was anxious about letting her out of his sight but he knew it had to be done in order to make her safe in the long run.

He arrived at the Haunted Star minutes later to find Luke, Lucky, Ethan and Nik all sitting at one of the tables.

"Make it quick, I don't like leaving her alone." Dante said curtly.

"Dante, we just want to help. We lost Lulu once, we can't do it again." Nik said.

"No, you didn't lose Lulu, I did. Most of you abandoned her. She lost all of you, not the other way around."

Luke spoke up. "You are right. We weren't there for her. We left her behind like she was always left behind. We want to be there for her now. Scott is in Port Charles and we have to find him before he finds her."

"Good. How are we going to find him?" Dante asked, getting right to the point.

Nobody said anything.

"Why are you wasting my time then? I left Lulu by herself because I thought you had some solutions. Don't call me again until you have a plan." Dante rushed out of the Haunted Star. He was feeling increasingly uncomfortable being away from Lulu knowing Scott was lurking around.

Nik, Ethan, Lucky and Luke just sat there. They had no idea how they were going to find Scott but they knew they had to think of something fast.

Dante checked with the guards and then let himself into the loft. He reset the security alarm and went to check on Lulu. She was still asleep, cuddled up to his pillow. She looked so beautiful and peaceful. He breathed a sigh of relief and stripped down to his boxers. After using the restroom, he lifted the covers and climbed in next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and she instinctively cuddled up to him and buried her face in his neck. Even after all of these weeks, he still couldn't believe that she was back home and in his arms. He had to make sure she stayed safe.

* * *

><p>Two weeks later and they still had no leads on Scott. By this time, everyone in Port Charles knew that Lulu was alive. She never went anywhere without guards but tried to get back into a normal routine. She threw herself into trying to fix up the Haunted Star and re-open it to the public. She had new carpets put in, the walls painted, new gaming tables installed and a new bar set-up. She made one of the function rooms into an after hours club and set up a DJ booth. She wanted to have a grand reopening in a few weeks but Dante thought a big event like that would be too dangerous with Scott still around. Still she oversaw the renovations every day and hoped that eventually they could reopen with a bang. Her family mostly left her alone except Ethan who she was on good terms with when she left. He helped her with the Haunted Star and she agreed to hire him as manager when the place finally reopened. Luke, Nik and Lucky mostly stayed out of her way.<p>

She and Dante tried to keep things at home as normal as possible. They didn't speak about Scott very much except for Dante to give Lulu updates on what they were doing to track him down. Instead they focused on cooking dinners like the Chef had taught them and talking about their days. Dante had gone back to work at the PCPD after Lulu insisted. He spent most of his time there, with Mac's approval, using the PCPD resources to try and find Scott. Lulu loved the time of day when they sat down together for dinner. She knew it was silly but after spending so much time together in Italy, she missed him during the day while they were both at work. They cooked and ate dinner together, did the dishes and then inevitably shed their clothes and made love for hours before falling asleep tangled together. They couldn't get enough of each other.

* * *

><p>One morning, Lulu abruptly woke up and ran to the bathroom. She just made it to the toilet when the vomiting started. She emptied the contents of her stomach and then collapsed on the floor. She leaned against the wall trying to catch her breath. Suddenly a cold realization hit her. She hadn't renewed her birth control since before she was presumed dead. She and Dante had been having sex. A whole lot of sex. Without any protection whatsoever. She tried not to panic. This could all just be a coincidence. Maybe she ate something that didn't agree with her. She tried to remember when she last had her period. She couldn't but time was all fuzzy because of the coma and her schedule could be off because of the stress. Once the nausea had passed, Lulu got up off of the floor, brushed her teeth, washed her face and went to get back in bed. Dante reached for her and pulled her close. She lay there awake thinking about how their life was about to change if she really was pregnant. She knew she wanted kids with Dante eventually but this was the worst possible timing. There was a psycho trying to kill her. Their life was so unsettled. They lived in a one-room loft with no place to put a baby or all of the things that go along with a baby. She had to get a pregnancy test but how would she do that without anyone finding out? She was never alone because it was too dangerous. She would have to figure something out. Until then she had to try to stay calm. Maybe the whole thing was just a false alarm. She knew Dante would be a fantastic dad, whenever it happened for them so that wasn't a concern. She turned around in his arms to bury her face in his chest and try to go back to sleep. She would think about all of this later.<p> 


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Lulu was working at the Haunted Star later that morning and stepped away from the group to make a phone call.

"Maxie, it's me." She whispered into the phone.

"Lulu, why are we whispering?"

"I need you to do something for me but you can't tell anyone. I'm serious. I'm trusting you with something really important." Lulu said still speaking in a whisper so her guards and Ethan wouldn't hear.

"I promise. Now what is it?" Maxie asked.

"I need you to buy me a pregnancy test and bring it here to the Haunted Star." Lulu confessed.

Maxie squealed, "You might be pregnant! Oh my god! That's great!"

Lulu was silent on the other end of the phone.

"It is great, right?" Maxie asked.

"I knew Dante and I would have a family eventually and the thought of having a baby with him makes my heart melt, but the timing is seriously bad. There is a psycho trying to kill me. I can't go anywhere without guards. We live in a one-room loft. Dante is already so stressed about not finding Scott yet, I don't want to add anymore to his plate."

"Lulu, sometimes the timing of things is just out of our control. You two would make great parents. If you are pregnant, you have plenty of friends and family around to help. Olivia would be over the moon." Maxie tried to reassure Lulu.

"I know you are right. I'm just scared. I need to know for sure either way though. Will you please buy me a test?"

"Of course, I will bring it over there right away."

"Thanks Maxie, please remember not to tell anyone."

Lulu hung up the phone and got back to work. She needed to distract herself until Maxie arrived.

Dante was waiting on the docks, staring out at Wyndemere. Luke had asked to meet him here and he had no idea why. He really needed to be back at the station following up on leads to find Scott.

"Detective." Luke said coming up behind Dante.

Dante turned around and nodded but said nothing. He waited for Luke to speak.

"How is my cupcake? Is she okay? This must be very stressful for her." Luke started.

"What do you care? When have you ever cared if she was okay?" Dante asked. He could already feel himself getting angry. This man had tossed Lulu aside numerous times to go on grand adventures or because he just didn't feel like being a dad.

"She's my daughter. I haven't been the best father but I love her. She is shutting me out and I want to know if she is okay."

Dante exploded, "Of course she isn't okay! She was kidnapped from our honeymoon and held captive, nearly killed, spent months in a coma and now she fears for her life constantly. You know how you can help Lulu? Give me something, anything to find Scott Baldwin. She is never going to feel safe with him out there so he has to be stopped."

Scott was lurking around the corner listening in to the conversation between Dante and Luke. He loved hearing how Lulu was suffering. Perhaps he should wait to make his move and let her suffer in fear a little longer. He watched as Dante left Luke standing on the pier.

Maxie arrived at the Haunted Star a little while later. The guards stopped her at the door. "Name please?"

"What the hell do you mean name please? I am Maxie Jones. Lulu's best friend and she invited me to come here. Lulu!" Maxie yelled through the door, around the big, burly bodyguard. "Lulu! Come call off your goons!"

Lulu came rushing down the hall. "It's okay! She's okay to come in!" Lulu wanted to nip this in the bud before Maxie caused more of a scene. The bodyguard stepped out of the way to let Maxie by. She stuck her nose in the air and stomped past him.

"Let's go into my office Maxie." Lulu said grabbing Maxie's arm. Once they were in the office with the door shut, Lulu asked, "Did you get it?"

"Yes, here it is." Maxie said as she pulled a white bag out of her purse. "Are you going to take it now?"

"No, I'm going to go home and do it. I'm just so nervous about it. This is going to change everything if it comes out positive."

Maxie gave Lulu a hug. "If it comes out positive, then you will make a great mom and Dante will make a wonderful dad. We are all here to help and support you. You better have a girl though because I need someone to dress up as a mini-me."

"Maxie!" Lulu laughed. Her friend always knew how to lighten the mood.

"I have to get back to work. The new assistant they hired is terrible. This is like the fourth one since you left and I'm sure Kate is going to fire her any minute." Maxie rushed out of the office.

Lulu headed back to the loft shortly after that. She couldn't concentrate on work with the pregnancy test sitting in her purse. She had to face up to reality and find out for sure. Dante was going to be working for a few more hours so she had the loft to herself. If she was pregnant, she wanted to wait until the right time to tell him. Hopefully after they found Scott and there was no longer a threat. She took the test, set the timer and then sat down on the bathroom floor to wait. She wanted a family with Dante more than anything but this couldn't have happened at a worse time. How was she supposed to add the stress of a pregnancy onto Dante's already full plate? He was so worried about Scott trying to get to her, it would just get so much worse if there was a child involved. She didn't want their child to be born under a cloud of fear and distress. Any child of theirs should be born into a loving, stable environment. The timer went off and Lulu's stomach dropped. The next moment was going to change her life forever. She picked the test up off of the edge of the tub and looked at it. It was positive. Lulu was pregnant. She felt a strange mix of sheer joy and utter panic. She and Dante were having a baby. They made a life together. She started to cry and before she knew it she was sobbing uncontrollably. After a few minutes of letting herself cry, she sniffled and pulled herself together. She didn't want to stress Dante out even further by dropping this on him while he was looking for Scott. She wondered how he would react when she finally did tell him. Would he be upset?

Later that day, Dante came home from work and found Lulu asleep on the couch. She looked so peaceful and beautiful all curled up. He took off his jacket and leaned down to kiss her temple.

Lulu woke up and greeted him groggily. "Mmmm hi"

"You okay baby? The guards told me you came home early from the Haunted Star because you weren't feeling well."

"A girl can't get away with anything around here." Lulu joked. "I was just tired so I came home to rest."

"Are you sure that's all it is?" Dante asked looking worried.

Lulu hesitated. Suddenly she felt sick to her stomach and jumped up off of the couch to rush to the bathroom. As she wretched into the toilet, Dante came in the bathroom and gathered her hair away from her face and rubbed her back with concern. In between heaves, Lulu said "I don't want you to see me like this."

"I'm not leaving." Dante stated firmly as he continued to rub her back. When she was done, Dante helped her brush her teeth and then lifted her up and carried her to bed. Once he set her down, he sat down next to her and stroked her hair. "Lulu, we need to take you to a doctor. Something is wrong."

Lulu took a deep breath. She should have known that she wouldn't be able to keep this from him for any length of time. "I'm not sick Dante. I came home early from work today so I could take a pregnancy test." Her eyes filled with tears as she continued with her confession. "I'm pregnant."

"We're having a baby?" Dante was stunned. This is the last thing he saw coming. He was going to be a dad. He sat there in silence and stared at Lulu in awe.

Lulu started to cry then. "I'm sorry, I was going to wait to tell you until things were more settled."

Dante still sat there staring at her in awe.

"Dante please say something."

Dante finally snapped out of his daze. "Baby, we're having a baby!" Dante said excitedly as he pulled her to him. He rested her forehead against hers. "Are you okay?"

"You're not upset about the timing?" Lulu finally spoke.

"Of course not. I know things are unsettled but Lulu, we made a life together. We are starting our family, which is what I always wanted for us. We'll figure it all out together. You didn't answer me. Are you okay?"

Lulu breathed a sigh of relief that Dante wasn't upset. "I have never been so happy or so scared in my entire life." She rested her head on Dante's shoulder and rubbed her stomach. He put his hand over hers. She couldn't believe there was a life growing inside of her.

"Do you feel okay? We need to take you to a doctor." Dante said.

"I'm fine, just tired and you saw the morning sickness. I don't know why they call it that when it happens all day. Let's worry about the doctor tomorrow. Tonight I just want to get used to the idea that we are soon going to be a family of three."

"Lulu, I want you to know I'm going to be with you in this every step of the way. If you have morning sickness, I'll hold your hair back. If you are tired, I'll tuck you in for a nap. If you are hungry, I'll make you and the baby a snack. We are in this together."

"I love you Dante. I'm still terrified but knowing we are in this together makes it a little less scary.

"How far along do you think you are?" Dante asked.

"I'm not sure, maybe two months? I haven't taken my birth control since the honeymoon. After everything that happened, I just forgot. Then I was in a coma for three months. It could have happened any time since we start sleeping together again in Italy. We have been having sex non-stop since then."

"Yes, we sure have." Dante laughed. He squeezed Lulu tight to him. "Let me make you and our baby some dinner."

Later that night, Dante was watching Lulu sleep. He couldn't believe they were having a baby. He was going to be someone's father. He pulled the covers back and looked at Lulu's still flat stomach. He leaned down and gave her stomach a kiss. "It's Daddy." He whispered. "I can't wait to meet you in a few months. I promise I'll keep you and your mom safe and that you will grow up knowing you have two parents that love you very much." He kissed her stomach one more time and covered her back up. He lay back down beside her and pulled her close. She sighed in her sleep and buried her face in his neck as she cuddled close. Dante held her as he thought about their future. He had to get them out from under the threat of Scott Baldwin for good as soon as possible. No matter what it took.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Scott Baldwin arrived at Spoon Island under the cover of darkness. It was time to set his plan into motion. Scott knew Nik was out here alone with just his elderly butler Alfred to keep him company. He should easily be able to subdue Nik and toss him into a dungeon. Then he just needed to lure Lulu out here pretending to be Nik wanting to see her. She would never suspect that he would be waiting for her to finish what he started.

The next morning, Lulu woke up to find Dante wrapped around her possessively with one hand on her stomach under her shirt. She looked at his handsome sleeping face and became overwhelmed with love for him. Then her morning sickness took over and she had to untangle herself from him and run to the bathroom. Dante shuffled in sleepily shortly after and rubbed her back while she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. When she was done, he helped her brush her teeth and wiped her face with a damp washcloth. Her legs were wobbly as she tried to walk out of the bathroom and Dante swooped her up in his arms and carried her back to bed. Lulu's hormones got the better of her and she burst into tears.

"Baby, what's wrong? Are you in pain? Should we call the doctor?" Dante asked in a panic.

"No, I'm fine." Lulu sniffled. "You are just such a good husband. I'm so in love with you and so happy to be having your child and my hormones are raging because I'm pregnant."

Dante breathed a sigh of relief and slid back into bed with her. He wiped her tears and pulled her in close. "Let's go back to sleep, it is still early and you and baby Falconeri need the rest."

Lulu cuddled up to Dante and drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later she woke again, only this time she didn't have to rush out of bed and run to the bathroom. Dante's strong arms were wrapped around her and suddenly she was overcome with the need to make love to him. She started kissing his chest and down his stomach and along the waistband of his underwear. She took off his underwear and tossed it off the bed and then took his cock into her mouth. He woke up to her vigorously bobbing her mouth up and down on him and tangled his hands in her hair. Once he was rock hard, she sat up on her knees between his legs and whipped her shirt off immediately followed by her underwear. As soon as she was naked she resumed stroking his cock and then straddled him and put his cock at her entrance. She settled down on top of him as he slid inside and she moaned and tossed her head back. She rode him slowly, grinding over him. "Is this okay? It isn't going to hurt the baby?" Dante asked in a panic grabbing her hips to try and stop her movements.

"Yes, we can have as much sex as we want babe. It doesn't affect the baby." Lulu laughed.

"Oh thank god, I didn't know how I was going to stop." Dante said as he used his grip on her hips to help her grind herself over him.

"I'm almost there." Lulu panted as she bounced up and down on him. A few more hard thrusts and she shook above him and collapsed on his chest. He grabbed her ass and thrust into her a few more times before he shuddered and exploded inside her. They lay there collapsed in a heap breathing heavy.

"Sorry I woke you up." Lulu panted. "I couldn't wait."

"Baby, you can wake me up like that any time of the day or night." Dante said as he ran his hands over her. "We should take you to the doctor today."

Lulu grew quiet.

"Baby? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. I'm just scared to go to the doctor. What if word gets out that I'm pregnant? Right now it is just a safe little secret between us."

Dante knew what she was saying without her coming out and saying it. She didn't want Scott to find out about the baby and he really didn't disagree with her.

"I understand why you would want to wait but we can't put off medical care for you or the baby." Dante didn't want to take any chances with her health or the baby's.

"Maybe we should go to a doctor outside of Port Charles."

"I have an idea. Why don't we take a long weekend somewhere and you can go to the doctor wherever we go. You can pick the place. It just has to be somewhere with excellent medical care. We can stay the weekend in a hotel, see the sights of the place, spend some time together without the stress of Port Charles."

"I love that idea." Lulu said as she kissed Dante all over his face until she landed on his lips. "I know just where I want to go too."

While Dante went to go see Sonny about borrowing the plane and some security, Lulu packed them both a bag and made sure she put some of her sexiest lingerie in hers. She would be too pregnant to wear most of it soon enough and she knew that she and Dante needed to enjoy their active sex life while they could.

Dante arrived at Sonny's house and let himself in. Lulu and Dante both agreed to tell only Sonny about the baby because they needed his help getting out of town.

"Sonny?" Dante called when he entered the living room. Sonny came out of his back office. "Dante! What brings you here?"

"Lulu and I need your help. Again." Dante said. "I have something really important to tell you but you have to promise that you won't tell anyone."

"Anything you need son. I promise whatever you tell me will stay between us. What's going on?"

"Lulu is pregnant. We are having a baby." Dante said. He waited for a response but Sonny just sat there stunned.

"Did you hear what I said?" Dante asked, confused.

Sonny got a little choked up when he tried to respond. "I'm going to be a grandpa?"

Dante chuckled a little. "Yeah, I guess you are."

"Congratulations Dante. I'm so happy for both of you. How is Lulu doing?"

"Thank you Sonny. The reason I'm here is because Lulu doesn't want to go to General Hospital to see a doctor. She is scared that Scott will find out. I thought we could get out of town for a long weekend and see a doctor elsewhere so she would be more comfortable."

"Anything you need. The plane is yours and the security team will be ready to go whenever you are." Sonny promised.

"I really appreciate your helping us. Not just today but with everything."

"Olivia is going to freak out when she hears about this. When you are ready to tell her of course. I won't spill. She has been wanting grandbabies since you and Lulu got together." Sonny chuckled to himself thinking about Olivia's reaction.

"I know. I can't wait to tell her as soon as it is safe. Anyway, I should get back to Lulu."

"Of course. Congratulations Dante. Please send my love to Lulu." Sonny said as he walked Dante out.

"Baby?" Dante yelled as he entered the loft. He got no answer.

"Lulu?" He called and then headed to the back to see if she was in the closet or bathroom. The door to the bathroom was slightly ajar and he pushed it open. Lulu was lying unconscious on the floor.

"Lulu! Oh my god!" He said as he knelt beside her. "Baby you have to wake up!" He cradled her in his arms trying to get her to wake up. She slowly came to and looked up at him confused.

"What happened?" She asked groggily.

"I don't know. I just found you passed out on the floor." Dante said still in a panic. "We have to get you to the hospital right now."

"Dante wait. I'm remembering what happened. I just got done with another round of morning sickness. I brushed my teeth and then I felt dizzy. I must have passed out. I'm sure it is no big deal. We can tell the doctor about it when we go this weekend." Lulu said as she tried to stand up.

"Lulu Falconeri it most certainly is a big deal. We are going to General Hospital right now. This isn't a discussion." Dante picked Lulu up off of the floor and carried her through the loft and headed down to his car.

"I'm sure I can walk Dante." Lulu said trying to extract herself from his arms.

"I'm not taking any chances. You could pass out again or you could try to get away from me and avoid the hospital. I'm not letting either of those things happen."

Lulu gave in and rested her head on his chest. He set her into the car gently and then walked around to the driver's side. He motioned for the bodyguards to follow them.

They arrived at the hospital and Dante tried to carry her inside but she insisted on walking. "It is embarrassing!" She said. Her legs were wobbly but she managed to make it into the emergency room leaning heavily on Dante.

Dante went right up to the desk. "My wife is pregnant and I just found her unconscious on the bathroom floor after a bout of morning sickness. Can we please see a doctor?"

"I'll page Dr. Lee. Please fill out these forms." The nurse at the desk said. She recognized Dante as Sonny Corinthos' son and she certainly wasn't about to make him wait.

Dante helped Lulu into a chair and started to fill out the form while she leaned her head against his shoulder. She was scared and hoped that everything was okay with the baby.

Lucky Spencer was making his way to the Haunted Star to meet Luke and Ethan. They were getting together reluctantly to try to figure out what to do about Scott. Lulu couldn't live under this cloud of fear anymore and as her family they had to do something to help her. He was walking along the docks when he saw what he thought must be a ghost. He stopped to stare at the back of the woman that from behind looked exactly like Siobhan.

"Siobhan?" Lucky said as he stepped toward her. The woman turned towards him slightly and he got a glimpse of the side of her face. She looked exactly like Siobhan. The woman then turned away and hurried off of the docks. He went after her but it was like she disappeared into thin air.

"I must be losing it." Lucky thought to himself as he turned back towards the Haunted Star.

Siobhan waited until it was safe and then got on the launch to go to Wyndemere. She had some new information to tell Scott and this was going to change everything.


	20. Chapter 20

****Chapter 20****

Dante finished filling out their forms and they waited for Dr. Lee to arrive.

"How are you feeling? Do you still feel dizzy?" Dante asked.

"I feel fine. I'm sure everything is fine. Everything has to be fine." Lulu said unconvincingly. Dante put his arm around her and pulled her in close.

Dr. Lee arrived shortly after and led them to an exam room.

"Lulu, tell me what's going on." She said once they were settled.

"I took a home pregnancy test and it came out positive. I have been having some morning sickness and have had a few dizzy spells. This morning I had some morning sickness and then got dizzy afterwards. I must have passed out because Dante found me on the floor of the bathroom unconscious." Lulu explained.

"Okay, why don't you put this gown on and we'll see what is going on." Dr. Lee handed her a paper gown and directed her behind the privacy screen to change. Once Lulu was on the exam table, she set up the ultrasound machine and got started. A nurse came in and took a blood test quickly. Once she was gone Dr. Lee put the wand on Lulu's stomach. She moved it around until they heard a faint heartbeat and they could see a tiny little bean like shape floating around.

"Oh my god!" Lulu said as she grabbed Dante's hand.

"Looks like congratulations are in order. I will have to run a few more tests but from the size I would say you are about 8 weeks along. I asked them to put a rush on your blood work so I'm going to go check and see if it is ready." Dr. Lee left the room.

"Dante, that's our baby!" Lulu said as they stared at the screen. Dante was speechless.

"Honey, are you okay?" Lulu asked when he didn't say anything.

Dante turned to Lulu with tears glistening in his eyes. "I have never been better. That's our baby right there. We are having a child." He leaned forward and kissed her tenderly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." Lulu said as she cupped his cheek with her hand.

Dr. Lee returned with the test results then. "Well, I was correct that you are 8 weeks along. Everything else checks out fine except you are dehydrated and your iron levels are low. This is what is causing the dizzy spells and the fainting. You need to eat an iron rich diet and drink eight to ten glasses of water a day. You also need to eat more now that you are eating for two and include lots of fruits and veggies."

"I will make sure she does all of that." Dante assured Dr. Lee. "I'll cook for her and pack her snacks."

"The other very important thing you need to do Lulu is rest and keep your stress at a minimum. If you feel dizzy you need to stop whatever you are doing and lay down. If you aren't in a place you can lay down then you need to at least sit down. You need plenty of sleep as well as exercise such as brisk walking."

"I understand. I will rest and eat." Lulu said.

"Dr. Lee, I have just one question. We had sex this morning. Could that have caused Lulu to faint? Should we not be having sex?"

"Sex is perfectly fine and would not be the cause of the fainting. It is the low iron and the dehydration that are the problem. Sex is actually a good way to get the heart rate up and relieve stress. Many women find their sex drive is higher during pregnancy due to the changes in hormones. The hormones also cause mood swings so don't be alarmed if your emotions are all over the place."

"That's certainly good news about the sex." Dante grinned. Lulu elbowed him in the side.

"Dr. Lee, I had an abortion when I was younger. Is that going to have an effect on this pregnancy?" Lulu asked tentatively.

"No, it is very unlikely that a previous abortion will have any effect on a later pregnancy."

Lulu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Anymore questions?" Dr. Lee asked. Dante and Lulu shook their heads. "Okay then here is your first ultrasound picture. I'll have my office call you to schedule a follow up appointment in two weeks so we can run the blood tests again."

"Thank you so much Dr. Lee." Dante said as he shook her hand.

"Yes, thank you." Lulu said as she stared at the picture.

Dr. Lee left and Lulu changed out of the gown into her clothes. When she came out from behind the screen Dante pulled her into a hug. "I'm so happy everything is okay. I was so worried about you and the baby."

"Me too." Lulu said as she squeezed him back. "I can't believe I have a little person growing inside me."

"It is amazing." Dante said as he put his hand on her stomach. "Let's get you two home so you can rest and eat and then rest some more."

"Dante what about our trip?"

"I don't think traveling is the best idea right now, do you?"

"I think a weekend alone away from Port Charles is a great idea. No distractions from work. We could take a break from worrying constantly about my safety. We could spend the weekend doing all of the things Dr. Lee suggested. Sleep, eating, drinking water and having sex." Lulu said as she rubbed her hands up and down his arms.

Dante groaned. "You know I'm unable to resist you. You aren't playing fair."

"Let's spend the weekend celebrating and then we can get back to reality on Monday and figure out our next move." Lulu said as she leaned in and kissed his neck.

Dante sighed. She sure did make it sound appealing and like the right thing to do. "Okay, let's go but you are going to rest this weekend. Sonny's plane is waiting for us at the airstrip. We can stop by the loft and get our bags."

"Yay! Let's go!" She said as she pulled him out of the room.

Scott was sitting at Nik's desk in his home office going through his private papers when Siobhan arrived.

"Where is Nik?" She asked. Siobhan liked Nik and hoped nothing terrible had happened to him.

"Nik is locked in his own dungeon. I have no plans to kill him. I just need his house and his phone to lure Lulu here." Scott explained.

"I have some big news that might change your plans." Siobhan said.

"What is it?" Scott was intrigued.

"I have a nurse inside the hospital that gives me information. She texted me a while ago that they arrived and asked to see Dr. Lee. Then she did blood work on Lulu and she is pregnant." Siobhan explained, thinking this might dissuade Scott from his plan.

"Pregnant? How far along is she?" He asked.

"The nurse said eight weeks. She also overheard them talking about going away for the weekend. They will be back on Monday."

"Perfect. That gives me plenty of time to prepare. This pregnancy is just the angle I need to make this all the more heartbreaking to the Spencers."

Lulu and Dante arrived at their destination later that afternoon. They were staying in Vermont at a house Sonny owned but rarely used. Dante called ahead and had the kitchen stocked with healthy food for Lulu. Since it was summer, the ski village the house was in wasn't very busy. They knew they would be able to have privacy. Dante still felt uneasy about using Sonny's houses and his plane but Lulu's safety was too important to risk. He needed the security that Sonny's properties offered and the bodyguards that went everywhere with them. The house itself wasn't very big but had huge windows, a big pool and a yard. The master suite was lovely and had a fantastic view of the mountains. There were no houses nearby so they would have no interruptions. There was a fence surrounding the property and the security team was instructed to stay outside of it and on guard at all times. This afforded Lulu and Dante privacy to be free but also the safety that was necessary.

"First things first. You need to eat." Dante said as he headed into the kitchen to get Lulu a snack. She sat at the counter and he handed her a glass of water then set about fixing her a snack.

"You are seriously the best husband." Lulu said as she sipped her water and waited for her snack. "You take such good care of me and Baby Falconeri. Plus you aren't half bad in the sack." Lulu teased.

"Not half bad? Try amazing in the sack. I plan on proving that to you over and over this weekend."

"The doctor did say it was good exercise and a good stress relief." Lulu grinned.

"We will be relieving quite a bit of stress this weekend." He handed Lulu a huge plate of food consisting of a big sandwich, cut up fruit and some pita chip with hummus.

"Dante I'm eating for two, not two hundred!" She said as she stared at the mountain of food.

"You need to get your strength up. Now eat."

Lulu tackled the sandwich and then inhaled the fruit and pita chips. She finished off the whole plate of food in minutes.

"I guess I was hungrier than I thought." She laughed when she realized she had eaten the whole thing.

"Let's go rest now." Dante said as he helped her off of her stool.

"We can go to the bedroom but I'm not quite ready for resting." Lulu said with a mischievous glint. They made their way into the master suite and Lulu grabbed her bag and headed for the bathroom. She changed into one of her lingerie outfits she packed and checked herself out in the mirror. She could swear that her boobs were bigger now than they were even this morning. They looked huge in the sheer bra she was wearing. She sighed and turned off the light as she headed out into the bedroom. Dante was sitting on the bed in his boxers and he gasped when he saw her.

"Baby you look fucking hot." He said as she slowly walked over to him. "Are your boobs bigger?"

"They grew since this morning!" Lulu complained.

"Come here and let me feel them." She got within his grasp and he positioned her in a standing position between his legs. He ran his hands up her sides and over her breasts before squeezing them. "Do they hurt?" He said as he gently fondled them.

"No, they are just a little tender and sensitive. That feels really good." She said as she leaned into his touch.

He reached around and unclasped the bra and then took it off of her. She could see his arousal creating a tent in his boxers. He moved forward and took one of her breasts in his mouth as she ran her fingers through his hair. She pushed him back so he would lay down on the bed and then she climbed on top of him. They kissed for a long time with their bare chests pressed together. Dante rolled them on their sides and entwined their legs together so he could rub his arousal against her through their underwear. She ran her hands down his back and into his boxers so she could squeeze his ass. He rolled her onto her back and quickly took off his underwear. He spread her legs open and settled between them with his arousal rubbing against her underwear. He kissed his way down her chin to her neck where he branded her as his and then moved on down to her breasts, first one and then the other. All the while he was rubbing his cock against her. He got up on his knees as he kissed down to her stomach and down to the waistband of her sheer panties. He lifted her legs and put them together so he could remove her last bit of clothing. Once he had it off he spread her legs again and looked at her. He could see her juices glistening at her entrance and he knew she was just as turned on as he was. Lulu loved when he looked at her like that. He always made her feel like the most beautiful and sexy woman in the world when they were in bed together.

He ran a finger up and down her slit. "You are so wet."

She moaned and spread her legs even wider. He leaned his head down and kissed her inner thighs and all around where she wanted his mouth the most. "Dante please!"

He spread her lips open and slowly licked her slit up and down. "Is this what you want?" He asked.

"Oh god yes. Don't stop!" Lulu panted as she put her hands on his head to try and push his face further into her.

He licked her slowly up and down as she moaned until he finally felt that he teased her enough and buried his face between her legs. She pushed herself onto his mouth as he sucked and licked her. Just as she was about to come, he stopped and sat up. She could see her juices glistening around his mouth and chin.

"Why did you stop? I was almost there?" Lulu breathed.

She looked so beautiful lying there spread open and all flushed. "I was just getting you ready. I want to be inside you when you come." He said as he took his cock and ran it up and down her sensitive folds. Lulu moaned and gripped the bed sheets.

"I need you inside now." Lulu said as she tried to move herself onto his cock. He put just the tip in and then pulled it out and continued to rub up and down her slit.

"Fuck me now Dante!" Lulu said as she reached between them and grabbed his cock. She positioned him at her entrance and thrust her hips up so he was halfway inside her.

"I love a woman that goes after what she wants." Dante said as he pushed the rest of the way in. They stayed like that, joined together completely. Dante could feel Lulu pulsing around him she was so aroused. He slowly pulled out and thrust back in. He kept his pace slow and steady as he watched her. She bit her lip and tossed her head back. He ran his hands down her neck, over her breasts giving them a squeeze and down her sides around to grab her ass. He leaned down so he was resting on top of her and they ground their centers together as he kissed and sucked on her neck.

"Dante I'm coming!" Lulu panted. He kept up his slow pace while she came around him. He slowed almost to a stop while she shattered and then gave her just a short minute to recover and started the slow thrusting again. She was extra sensitive after her orgasm and the sensation of his cock sliding in and out was almost too much to handle. He sat back up again, never severing their connection and lifted her legs and put his arms under her knees. This new position tilted her in such a way that he was hitting a different spot and going in even deeper. He kept up the slow and steady thrusting while she shattered around him again. It took everything he had not to go over the edge with her but he didn't want this to be over yet. He rested inside her for a minute as she came down from her orgasm again. Then he pulled out and turned her over onto her stomach. He spread her legs and got in between them, resting on top of her and leaning on his hand so as not to crush her. He teased her folds with his cock before thrusting back in and starting the slow, sensual dance again. He pressed Lulu's hips into the bed with his and reached an arm around to grab her breast. He squeezed her breast and pinched her nipples while he continued to slowly thrust in and out. He then slid his hand down between her and the mattress and started fingering her clit. Minutes later she came again. He gave her another minute to recover and then pulled out and flipped her over onto her back.

"Dante, I can't take much more!" Lulu said as she recovered from her latest orgasm.

"That's what I was waiting to hear." Dante said as thrust back inside her. He let himself go now and started thrusting at a rapid pace, racing towards his completion. He rested on top of her and reached under to grab her ass roughly as he buried his face in her neck. She was moaning in his ear and digging her nails into his back. He came with a shout, shuddering and emptying inside her. This sent Lulu into yet another orgasm and she wrapped her legs around Dante's waist to keep him inside. He lifted his face up from her neck and kissed her with sloppy, open-mouthed kissed. "I love you." He breathed into her mouth.

"I love you too." Lulu said before kissing him again.

Eventually her legs fell from around his waist and he sat up and pulled out. He looked down at her again, the sweat glistening from her body. She looked completely satisfied and happy.

"Do you want to amend your statement about me being not half-bad in the sack?" He asked as he lightly ran his hands up down her body.

Lulu laughed at his question. "You have proven me wrong. You are amazing in the sack. The best there ever was."

Dante grinned. "Then my work here is done."

"Your work here is never done. After a nap we are doing that again." She said as she pulled him down to lay next to her and turned on her side towards him. He wrapped his arms around her and she cuddled in to go to sleep. She kissed his chest. "That really was amazing. You make me feel so beautiful and sexy."

"You are the most beautiful and sexy woman on the planet." He said as he kissed the top of her head. "Now rest. I plan on relieving some more of your stress after our nap."

Lulu giggled. "I'm so happy I married you." She said and then sighed as she drifted off to sleep. Dante followed shortly after, exhausted from the day and their vigorous round of lovemaking.

A couple of hours later Lulu woke up alone in bed. She could see from the big windows that it was dusk outside and she could smell something delicious cooking in the kitchen. She got up and padded into the bathroom to freshen up. She picked out a set of hot pink lingerie and then put on her short silk robe. When she went into the kitchen she found Dante looking adorable in a pink ruffled apron and his underwear cooking dinner.

"I wish all of your cop friends could see you now." Lulu teased as she came around the counter to see what he was cooking.

"Baby, this outfit is for your eyes only." He said as he looked up from the stove.

"What's for dinner? Baby Falconeri and I are hungry."

"I figured you would be after all of that stress relief." Dante grinned at her. "Have a seat at the counter." Dante went in the fridge and took out a plate of cut up vegetables and dip for her to snack on and placed them in front of her. Then he got out a large cup and poured her some water. "I'm making chicken for dinner. It will be ready shortly."

"You are the best freaking husband ever." Lulu said between bites of veggies. While she snacked Lulu noticed that Dante already set the table. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Nope, this weekend is about me taking care of you and our baby." Dante said as he prepared their plates of food.

"Dante you always take care of me." Lulu said as she gazed at him adoringly.

"Then I'm doing something right. Let's eat." He said as he carried their plates to the table. He lit the candles and dimmed the lights and then pulled out her chair for her to sit down.

They shared a romantic dinner by candlelight and enjoyed each other's company. After dinner Dante insisted that Lulu go relax on the couch and pick a movie for them to watch while he cleaned up. When he was finished he took off his apron and joined her.

"What did you find?" He said as he handed her another glass of water.

"The On Demand has that cop movie you wanted to see. I thought we could watch that."

"Sounds good to me." Dante said as he stretched out. "Come here."

Lulu put her water down and cuddled up to Dante as she started the movie. Lulu was asleep on his chest twenty minutes in. Dante watched the rest of the movie and then turned off the TV. He slid out from under Lulu and picked her up to carry her to bed. He gently took off her robe and nearly groaned out loud when he saw the hot pink lingerie she had on underneath. He got her settled in bed and then climbed in next to her.

"Will you take off my bra?" She mumbled, half asleep. Dante knew she hated sleeping with a bra on and she must have realized they were in bed in her half-asleep haze.

"Sure baby." He said as he unclasped the front and gently took it off of her.

"Love you." She mumbled as she rested her head on his chest and fell back into a deep sleep.

"I love you too." Dante said as he cuddled her close. He knew that after this weekend they were going to have some huge obstacles to overcome, but right here and right now, holding his pregnant wife while she slept, everything was right with the world.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

****Thanks again for all of the kind comments on this story. This last chapter was a little romance and happiness before things get crazy. The confrontation with Scott is coming very soon...


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay! Please read and review**

**Chapter 21**

The last morning of their weekend getaway, Lulu woke up to sunlight streaming in through the huge windows. Dante was still asleep next to her. She carefully extracted herself from his arms and got out of bed to run to the bathroom for her first round of morning sickness. This time it didn't last long and when she was finished she brushed her teeth and went to look out the big windows. The swimming pool sparkled in the early morning sunshine and looked very inviting. She decided to throw her bikini on and go for a swim before breakfast while Dante slept. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a purple string bikini and tied it on. When she got down to the pool, she dipped a toe in to test the temperature. It was cool but not cold. She tied her hair up in a knot on top of her head and dove in.

Dante woke up alone in bed and called out for his wife. She didn't respond but he heard splashing in the pool outside. He got out of bed and looked out the window. He saw Lulu swimming laps back and forth in the pool. He watched her gorgeous body sliding through the water gracefully for a few minutes before brushing his teeth and tossing on some trunks. He grabbed a couple of towels and headed out to join her.

Dante sat on the edge of the pool with his feet in the water and waited her to make it back to his end. Once she noticed him, she swam right up and leaned up for a kiss. "Morning Babe." She said. He leaned down to kiss her and she pulled him into the water. He yelped as he fell in and came up sputtering.

"That was a dirty trick." He laughed and grabbed her around the waist.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and planted kisses all over his face. "I couldn't help myself."

"How are you feeling today?" Dante asked.

"I feel amazing today. This time away has done wonders. I had a little morning sickness when I got up but it passed quickly."

"You need to eat. I'm going to make you some breakfast." He said as he kissed her again.

"Can I interest you in a shower with your wife first?" Lulu asked.

"Hell yes you can." Dante said. She unwrapped herself from him and grabbed his hand as she climbed the stairs out of the pool. They wrapped themselves in the towels Dante brought out and headed inside to shower.

After their shower, Lulu checked her phone and found a text from Nik inviting them to dinner when they returned to Port Charles.

"Babe, Nik wants us to come to dinner at Wyndemere tonight. Do you think we should go?" Lulu asked as she walked into the kitchen where Dante was preparing breakfast.

"If you want to then we should. It might be nice to spend some time with your brother and try to reconnect. It's up to you though." Dante said as he set a plate of fruit in front of her to snack on while he cooked.

"Thank you." She said as she looked at the plate. "I guess we should go. He is making an effort and I should do the same. I'll text him back that we will be there."

"Good. Now eat your fruit." Dante said as he added vegetables to the egg white omelettes.

"You're so bossy." She teased as she started eating. "It's kind of hot."

"Oh yeah?" Dante grinned at her.

"I especially like it when you boss me around while wearing your pink apron." Lulu laughed. "I don't want to go home today. What do you want to do with our last day?"

"Just relax with my beautiful wife. When we get back to the real world we are going to be busy finding a new house and all of that so I want to use this time to just enjoy each other." Dante said as he brought two plates over to the table and set them down.

"Thanks for making breakfast." Lulu said as she polished off her food. "It was delicious."

"I'm happy to do it. I want to keep you and the baby healthy and happy." Dante said as he reached over and put a hand on her still flat stomach.

Lulu leaned forward and gave him a kiss. "You are the best husband a girl could ask for. You're pretty cute too. I think we'll keep you around."

He kissed her again and then got up to clear their plates. She insisted on washing the dishes since he had been waiting on her so much. He helped her by drying to make the job go faster.

After the dishes were finished, Lulu was feeling kind of tired from the morning swim. The one thing she was noticing about pregnancy is that she got tired very easily. "I'm feeling a little tired. Will you come cuddle in bed with me before we have to go home?"

"I would love to." Dante said as he followed her to the bedroom.

They climbed onto the bed and Lulu rested her head on Dante's chest as he pulled her in close.

"This weekend has been wonderful." Lulu sighed. "I wish we didn't have to go back."

"It has been great. We have a lot to look forward to at home though. My mom is going to freak out when she finds out about the baby." Dante said as he rubbed her stomach. "Do you think it is a boy or girl?"

"Hmmmm. My gut is telling me it is a girl." Lulu said.

"I would be happy with either of course as long as the baby is healthy. I can't believe I'm going to be someone's dad." Dante said incredulously.

"This kid is going to be so lucky to have you." Lulu said as she reached up to kiss him on the cheek.

"I just want our kid to know that we are going to always be there. I don't want to miss all of the stuff that our fathers missed." Dante said as he stroked Lulu's hair.

Dante heard Lulu sniffling and looked down to see tears streaming down her face. "Baby, what is it? Are you okay? What's the matter?" Dante said with worry.

"I'm fine. I just love you so much and hearing you talk about being a dad to our kid got me all emotional." Lulu said as she wiped her tears. "It is the pregnancy hormones."

Dante laughed. "I suppose this is the sort of thing I'm going to need to get used to for the next several months."

"That and all of the weird stuff I'm going to want to eat." Lulu laughed along with him. She tried to stifle a yawn.

"Baby, you should get a little rest before we have to leave." Dante suggested.

"If I go to sleep then the trip will be over that much sooner. I don't want it to end." Lulu protested.

"We can come back here really soon." Dante said, rubbing her back.

"Good. We are going to need a break from our crazy families once they find out about this baby on the way." Lulu said as she wrapped her arm around his waist and snuggled in to his side.

"I love you." Dante said as he kissed her head.

"I love you too." She mumbled, already half asleep on his chest. Minutes later her breathing was even and Dante knew she was out like a light.

Dante lay there with Lulu sleeping on his chest and he worried. The stress of constantly having to worry about Scott was not good for Lulu or the baby. He didn't know what else to do. He had been working day and night to find him and so far had come up with nothing. He felt like a failure as a husband no matter what Lulu said.

An hour later, Dante extracted himself from Lulu's grasp and got up to pack their bags. He wanted to let her rest as long as possible but they had to leave to go back to Port Charles fairly soon. After he had everything packed, he climbed back into bed with Lulu. He brushed the hair from her face and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Baby, it's time to wake up. We have to get going soon."

Lulu's eyes fluttered open. "Mmmmm, I don't want to get up. I was having such a wonderful dream."

"Oh yeah? It must have been about me then." Dante teased.

"It was actually." Lulu laughed as she tilted her face up to kiss him and then she hopped out of bed. "I'm just going to go freshen up and then we can leave."

Lulu went into the bathroom and Dante went downstairs to pack them some sandwiches for the trip home. A few minutes later, Lulu came downstairs carrying their bags.

"Baby, I would have gotten those!" Dante said as he grabbed them from her and put them down.

"Dante, I'm pregnant not an invalid." Lulu laughed. "I can carry a couple of bags."

"You carry the baby, I carry everything else." Dante insisted. "I packed us a few sandwiches for the trip home. Are you ready to go?"

"I don't want to go but I'm ready. We should tell your mom about the baby as soon as we get home. Since we had to go to General Hospital and Sonny knows, it is only a matter of time before she hears it from someone else and she would be so upset."

"You are absolutely right. She would kill me if she heard it from someone else."

Lulu went up and wrapped her arms around Dante's waist, nestling her face in his neck. "Thanks for this weekend. I feel so much better."

"Anything for you baby. I just want you and that little Falconeri you are carrying to be happy and healthy." He said as he squeezed her back.

Lulu sighed. "Okay, let's go."

**Back in Port Charles**

The trip home was pleasant and quick. They immediately headed over to Olivia's apartment to tell her the news about the baby. Dante stopped in front of Olivia's door and turned to Lulu. "Are you sure about this?"

"I'm sure. I know she is going to be really happy for us." Lulu said.

"Okay, let's do it." Dante knocked on the door.

Olivia answered and greeted them happily. "Hi kids! What brings you two by? I thought you were out of town."

"We were, we just got back right now. We have something to tell you." Lulu said as Olivia ushered them inside.

"Lay it on me." Olivia said warily.

"Ma, it's good I promise." Dante assured her. He looked at Lulu who smiled and nodded for him to go on. "Lulu is pregnant. We are having a baby!"

Olivia gasped. "I'm going to be a Nonna? You are having my grandbaby?" She asked Lulu.

"Yes, Olivia. You are going to be a Nonna." Lulu confirmed. Olivia immediately got teary eyed and then pulled them in for a group hug.

"I'm so happy. The first grandbaby!" Olivia said as she released them.

"Ma, there is just one thing. You can't tell anyone yet. Only you and Sonny know about it so far." Dante said.

"Sonny knew about this before me?" Olivia demanded as she slapped Dante upside the head.

"Ma! We needed his help to get out of town so I had to tell him." Dante said defending himself.

"Fine but I get to know about the next one first." Olivia stated.

"Whoa. Let's get through this one first before we start talking about any next one." Lulu said. "If by chance there is another one, we promise you will be the very first to know."

Olivia ushered them over to the couch. "So tell me everything. When are you due? What are you having? Where are you going to live?"

Lulu laughed. "I'm only a couple of months along so it is too early to tell what we are having. We don't know where we are going to live yet. We have to look for houses since obviously the loft is too small."

"Are you feeling okay? Do you want something to eat?" Olivia got ready to run to the kitchen.

"We just ate on the trip back thank you. I have had some morning sickness and we had a little scare the other day when I passed out in the bathroom. Dante took me to General Hospital and I was just dehydrated and had low iron levels. I'm feeling much better after our weekend away." Lulu assured her, seeing the look of panic on her face.

"Has my son been taking care of you? He better be feeding you and rubbing your feet." Olivia warned.

Lulu laughed again. "He has been really wonderful. He doted on me all weekend and wouldn't even let me carry my own bag."

"Good. I would have to slap him upside the head again if he wasn't. You two should stay for dinner."

"Sorry ma, we would love to but we already agreed to have dinner with Nik. We should get going. Remember, this is a secret for now just until things settle down and Lulu is further along." Dante said.

"I won't tell a soul. I'm so happy for you kids." She said bringing them in for another group hug. "You promise me you'll come over for dinner this week."

"We will Olivia. Thank you." Lulu assured her. Dante and Lulu hugged Olivia one more time and left to head home and freshen up before dinner with Nik.

The ride over to Wyndemere afforded them a wonderful view of the sunset. Lulu leaned against Dante as the boat sliced through the water and they enjoyed the warm breeze.

"We don't have to stay long do we?" Dante asked, kissing her neck. "I want to get you alone again."

"We are going to stay a respectable amount of time. He was nice enough to extend this olive branch, I'm not going to be rude and leave early." Lulu reprimanded. "I promise though if you behave that I will give you a reward when we get home."

"I will be the picture perfect brother-in-law." Dante promised as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "We should call some realtors tomorrow and start looking for houses. It might take us awhile to find one we love and can afford."

"I can't believe we are going to buy a house. We need a nice yard so I can watch you mow it shirtless." Lulu teased.

"Who says I'm going to be mowing the lawn? Maybe you should be the one mowing shirtless." Dante teased right back.

"I'm going to be too pregnant to mow anything and I doubt anyone is going to want to see me shirtless." Lulu said.

"I always want to see you shirtless." Dante flirted.

"We'll see about that when I have a huge fat belly."

"You will still be the most gorgeous woman on the planet." Dante said as he resumed kissing her neck.

"Good answer." Lulu laughed. "Now kindly unhand me. We're here."

Dante groaned and let go of Lulu. He climbed out of the boat first and then reached for her hand to help her out.

They arrived at Wyndemere right on time for dinner and knocked on the large doors. When Alfred didn't show up they let themselves inside and called for Nik. They entered the dining room to find Scott Baldwin sitting at the head of the table with a very much alive Siobhan sitting at his right. Lulu was stunned not only to see Scott but to see Lucky's wife who was supposed to be dead. Before they could react, Dante was captured from behind by one of Scott's henchman and a knife was put to his throat.

"No!" Lulu screamed.

"I wouldn't make any rash decisions Lulu. Your husband's life depends on it." Scott smirked at her.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

"Don't hurt him!" Lulu screamed.

"Lulu try to stay calm." Dante said quietly.

"Yes, Lulu. Do try to stay calm. We wouldn't want anything happening to the baby." Scott sneered. "Or would we?"

Lulu looked at Scott with a horrified expression. He knew about the baby already.

"Yes, I know all about the baby." Scott said as he continued to sit smugly at the head of the table. "How nice that you can start a family while MY son never got that opportunity thanks to you."

Lulu wanted to argue that his son tried to kill her but she didn't want Dante to get hurt. That knife was dangerously close to his throat. She needed to figure out a way out of this.

"You remember Siobhan." Scott said as he gestured to his right.

"Hello Lulu." Siobhan said without even a hint of her Irish accent.

"You are supposed to be dead. And Irish." Lulu accused.

"Surprise! I'm neither. I have been working for Scott the whole time."

Scott motioned to his henchman. "Take Dante to be with his brother-in-law."

"No, don't take him! Please, what do you want from us?" Lulu pleaded.

"Take me but please let her go. Take your revenge on me!" Dante begged.

"Get him out of here!" Scott demanded.

Dante started struggling violently as they dragged him off. "I love you Lulu!" He yelled as they pulled him out of the room.

"I love you too." She cried.

"Isn't that sweet?" Scott sneered.

"Why are you doing this? You know Logan's death was an accident. He was trying to kill me." Lulu cried.

"The Spencers have been taking things from me for years. It's time I started returning the favor. I would have succeeded last time if I didn't hire such incompetent help."

Lulu was trying to remain calm but panic was welling up inside her. What were they doing to Dante? Where was Nik?

The guards tossed Dante into the dungeon.

"Dante?" Nik wondered how is brother-in-law had ended up in here too. "Where is Lulu?"

"Scott has her. We have to get out of here and save her." Dante said getting up from the ground where they left him.

"How do you propose we do that?" Nik asked.

Scott had one of his guards grab Lulu and tie her to a chair. "I have a special treat for you today Lulu. I'm going to murder your husband right in front of you and then I'm going to kill you."

"No!" She screamed. "You leave him out of this!" Lulu was squirming around in the chair trying to get out of her restraints.

"I'm going to stab him just like you stabbed Logan." Scott sneered.

Lulu managed to get her hip over to where her hand was tied. She reached in her pocket when Scott's back was turned and dialed her father's number. She slid the phone back in her pocket before he turned back around.

Luke was sitting in the Haunted Star with Lucky and Ethan going over the latest information they had on Scott, which was very little. His cell phone rang and he saw that it was Lulu calling.

"Hello Cupcake!" He answered.

Lulu didn't say anything and Luke could hear muffled talking. Then he heard Lulu's voice. "What did you do with Nik? This is his house. You had his phone to invite me to dinner in order to kill me. Where is he?"

Then Luke heard whom Lulu was speaking too. "Nik is in the dungeon with your husband. I'll get to him in due time. I may just keep him alive since he was so kind in loaning us his house." The call was lost then.

"Lulu is at Wyndemere. Scott has her." Luke said in a panic, jumping up from his seat. He ran from the Haunted Start with Ethan and Lucky close at his heels.

Lulu hoped that Luke heard enough to know where she was. She also hoped that he cared enough to come help her. Scott was still pacing back and forth going on about the Spencers ruining his life. After about twenty minutes of this, he told the guards to go get Dante. It was time.

Nik and Dante were in their cell trying to figure out a way out when the guards came. Two of them entered the cell and grabbed Dante as he struggled to get free. In the commotion, they didn't realize they forgot to lock the cell back up when they dragged Dante away. Nik waited until they were gone to slip out of the cell and quietly follow them up the stairs.

Luke, Lucky and Ethan arrived at Spoon Island and took the secret passage from the beach to the house. They arrived at the door to enter the house from the passage and listened. They could hear Scott going on about the Spencers to someone they assumed to be Lulu.

The guards brought Dante into the room, struggling the whole way.

"Lulu, are you ready to see your husband and the father of that child you are carrying die right in front of you?" Scott taunted.

"Please leave him out of this." Lulu cried. "He isn't a Spencer, he had nothing to do with anything."

"He may not be a Spencer but he married one, which was pretty stupid on his part. The Spencers bring nothing but misery." Scott sneered.

"Did he just say what I think he did?" Luke asked. "Father of Lulu's child? Is she pregnant?" He was stunned. His cupcake was having a baby.

The guards held Dante still and Scott brought the dagger up to his throat. "Whatever happens Lulu, please know that I love you and our baby with everything I have." Dante said, still trying to get away.

"Isn't that sweet? A husband and father's dying words." Scott said as he pushed the dagger slightly nicking Dante's throat.

"Please stop!" Lulu screamed. Dante saw the passageway door open behind Scott and he knew it was only a matter of time before the guards saw it too.

"Hey Boss, we got company!" One of the guards said as the door swung open and Luke, Lucky and Ethan charged in. Dante continued to struggle in earnest and Scott took this opportunity and went to stab him in the heart. He missed and got him in the stomach. Dante cried out in pain as blood started seeping through his shirt.

"Dante!" Lulu screamed. Luke rushed forward and ripped Scott off of Dante while Ethan untied Lulu and Lucky went after the guards holding Dante. Nik rushed into the room and helped Lucky to fight off the guards. Luke managed to knock Scott to the ground and once Dante was free of the guards thanks to Lucky and Nik he pulled the dagger out of his stomach. Dante knew if he was going to die he had to make sure Scott never went after Lulu or his child again.

"You will never hurt my family again!" Dante screamed as he stabbed Scott in the heart. Scott gasped and then died instantly. Dante stared at what he had done and then passed out in a pool of blood. Lulu was free by now and she ran to Dante's side.

"We have to get him to a hospital!" She said as she knelt down next to him. "Dante, can you hear me?" She applied pressure to his wound. "You are going to be okay."

Lucky and Nik had knocked out the two guards by now. They saw Siobhan running down the hall to get to the door. Lucky saw her and froze. "Was that?"

"Lucky listen to me. Siobhan was working with Scott the whole time." Lulu said still applying pressure to Dante's wound. "I don't have time to explain right now. We have to get Dante to the hospital."

Nik and Lucky picked Dante up and carried him out the passageway down to the beach. Lulu walked next to them applying pressure to his wound and talking to him. They loaded him into the boat and Luke drove as they sped back to the mainland. Dante looked pale but he was still breathing.

"Cupcake, is it true? Are you having a baby?" Luke asked from behind the wheel of the boat.

"Yes, it's true." Lulu said as fresh tears made their way down her cheeks. "Dante and I are having a baby."

Silence fell over the boat as they took in what this meant. If Dante didn't make it, Lulu would be a single mother. Ethan had called 911 as they were getting into the boat so an ambulance was waiting for them as soon as they docked. The EMTs took over applying pressure to the wound and Lulu followed them into the back of the ambulance. "Call Olivia and Sonny!" She yelled as they were closing the doors. She held Dante's hand the whole way, wanting him to know she was there.

Luke called Sonny who answered the phone, happy to hear from his friend. "Sonny, you need to get to the hospital."

"Why, what happened?" Sonny asked.

"Dante was stabbed. It's bad." Luke said.

"I'll be right there." Sonny hung up the phone and ran out of the house.

Lucky then called Olivia. "Olivia, hi. It's Lucky Spencer."

"Oh hi Lucky. How are you?" Olivia said, wondering why he would be calling.

"Olivia, you need to get down to the hospital. Dante and Lulu were taken hostage by Scott Baldwin tonight. Dante was stabbed."

"Oh my god! I'll be right there. Is Lulu okay? What about the baby?" Olivia asked in a panic.

"Lulu is okay and as far as we know the baby is okay too." Lucky assured her.

"I'll meet you at the hospital." Olivia said running out of her apartment.

Lucky called Mac next and told him what happened and that they left Scott's body in Wyndemere. Mac said he would be down to the hospital to take statements after he went over to Wyndemere to secure the crime scene.

They arrived at the hospital and whisked Dante into the ER. Lulu sat stood there staring at the closed doors. She had blood all over her hands and shirt. Dante's blood. Sonny was the first to arrive since he lived fairly close to the hospital.

"Lulu! Where is Dante? What happened?" Sonny asked as he saw all of the blood on her.

Lulu couldn't respond and just stared at him and then down at her hands and shirt. Sonny realized she was in shock. He led her over to the nurse's desk. "Can you tell me what's happening with my son, Dante Falconeri? Do you have someplace I could help her clean up and a shirt she could wear?"

"Your son is in surgery to repair a stab wound to his stomach. Someone will be out in a little while to give you an update." The nurse gave him a scrubs top and directed him to the doctor's locker room. He brought Lulu into the locker room and up to the sink. He washed her hands and then asked a female nurse to help her change. Lulu still hadn't spoken as he brought her back out into the waiting room. By that time Olivia, Luke, Lucky, Ethan and Nik had all arrived. Sonny sat her in a chair as Luke sat next to her and put his arm around her. "It's going to be okay Cupcake."

"Lulu, do you feel any pain? We should get you checked out. I'm going to go ask if Dr. Lee is here." Olivia said, rushing off to the Nurse's desk.

Lulu finally found her voice. "He has to live Dad. I can't do this without him."

"He is going to be fine. You'll see." Luke assured her, hoping he was right. He didn't know if her daughter could handle the loss of this man.


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note - Only a couple more chapters left of this story! The end of this chapter is for mature audiences. Please read and review!**

**Chapter 23**

The hours ticked by while Dante was in surgery. Luke, Sonny, Olivia, Nik, Ethan and Lucky all stayed by Lulu's side waiting for news. Lulu told herself that he made it through being shot three times, he could handle a stab wound. He would be fine. He had to be fine. Lulu needed him and their baby needed him. Olivia brought her food and despite feeling like she wouldn't be able to keep anything down, Lulu ate it to keep their baby healthy.

Finally, the surgeon came out to address the group. Everyone stood behind Lulu waiting for him to speak. "Mrs. Falconeri?"

"Yes, I'm Mrs. Falconeri." Lulu confirmed. "Please tell me is my husband okay?" She asked tremulously.

"He made it through surgery with flying colors. We repaired the damage to the lining of his stomach. Provided he doesn't develop any infections in the next twenty-four hours, he should make a full recovery." The doctor said.

Lulu breathed a sigh of relief. Dante was going to be okay. "When can I see him?"

"They are setting him up in a private recovery room. It should take about twenty minutes and then a nurse will come out and get you. He is very lucky. If that knife went in any higher we may not have such good news to share." The surgeon left and Lulu turned around and hugged her dad tight.

"What's this about?" He asked, confused.

"If you didn't come in when you did, Dante wouldn't be here right now. You saved his life and he saved mine." Lulu said.

Luke hugged her back and stroked her hair. "I would do anything for you baby girl. I know it doesn't always seem like that. From now on, I'm going to be there for you and for my grandkid."

The nurse came out to get Lulu and bring her to Dante's room. Luke sat down next to Sonny.

"Well old friend, looks like we are about to share a grandkid." Luke said patting Sonny on the back.

"I'm too young to be a grandpa." Sonny lamented. "Those kids are going to be great parents though. They learned what not to do from us."

"They sure did." Luke laughed. "You know if we want to see this kid that we are going to have to behave from now on? Lulu isn't going to put up with any of our shenanigans and neither is that cop son of yours."

"Believe me, I know. It took long enough for Lulu to come around to me after everything that happened with Dante. I'm not going to screw it up again." Sonny said. "Does this mean you are sticking around for awhile?"

"It does. I'm going to see if my Cupcake will give me a job at the Haunted Star. I think we need to spend some time together."

Lulu followed the nurse into Dante's room and fought back tears when she saw him. Her big, strong detective was lying in a hospital bed hooked up to machines again. She took some deep breaths and tried to calm herself down. She sat down in the chair next to his bed and took his hand in hers.

"Honey, it's me. I want you to know that I'm okay and the baby is okay." She said as she brought his hand up to her cheek. "You saved us. Scott is never going to hurt us ever again. We are finally free. So you need to wake up because this kid needs someone to teach him or her how to play stickball and to root for the Yankees." Lulu brought her hand up to his face and brushed the hair out of his eyes and then traced a finger down his cheek. "I love you very much. You are the best husband a girl could ask for and I know you are going to be an amazing father." Lulu curled up in the chair and rested her head on Dante's bed, still clutching his hand in hers. She was just going to rest her eyes for a minute.

Two hours later Dante woke up groggily and found Lulu asleep in the chair. He was relieved to see she was okay and other than the soreness in his stomach he seemed to be okay too. One of his hands was firmly grasped in hers so he used his other hand to brush the hair off her face. She opened her eyes to see him looking back at her and she immediately started to cry tears of joy. "You're awake." She said through her tears.

"Of course I'm awake. I wanted to see you." Dante said as he brought her hand up to his lips to kiss her palm.

"Dante we are free." Lulu said smiling. "It's finally over."

"It's finally over and we are having a baby. I have everything I ever dreamed of with you Lulu."

Lulu leaned forward and kissed Dante softly on the lips. "This is much better than any dream I ever had."

Dante carefully moved over and pulled Lulu into bed with him. "Come here and get some rest." He wrapped his arm around her as she curled into his side and immediately fell asleep. The emotional toll of the day really took it out of her and she was exhausted. Dante watched her sleep, counting his blessings that his family was finally safe.

A little while later, Olivia stuck her head into the room. Dante motioned that she should be quiet because Lulu was asleep but that she should come in.

"Hey ma."

"Don't 'Hey Ma' me young man. I can't take any more of these close calls. You stop doing that to your mother."

"I'm fine and my family is safe. We are all okay." Dante assured her.

"I know but a mother still worries. You'll understand soon enough. I can't wait to meet my grandbaby."

"Ma, I need your help. I'm going to be here in the hospital for a few weeks and that means I can't take care of Lulu. She needs to take it easy, get plenty of rest and eat a lot. I'm afraid she won't do that if she is worried about taking care of me." Dante said quietly.

"Dante, there is a whole waiting room of people out there that are here to help. Even Sonny and Luke promised to behave. I will make sure Lulu is eating and taking care of herself. You know if there is anything a Falconeri is good at, it's making people eat." Olivia promised.

"I knew I could count on you. We still need to find a house and move before Lulu gets too far along. I want her to have time to make the new house her own before the baby comes." Dante hated being helpless in the hospital when Lulu needed him.

"I will help her start looking. You need to stop worrying. It's all going to work out. The important thing is that you are all safe and healthy."

"Thanks Ma."

"Dante, I'm really proud of the man you have become." Olivia said as her eyes flooded with tears. "You are a wonderful husband and you are going to make a wonderful dad."

"You're the reason I turned out good." He said with a smile.

"I did do good with you." Olivia said ruffling his hair. "I'll let you get some rest. I'll be back with some food for Lulu."

In the days following, Lulu spent most of her time by Dante's side at the hospital. Olivia kept up a continuing flow of meals and snacks at the hospital and at the loft to make sure Lulu was eating enough. Lulu was very careful to follow all of Dr. Lee's recommendations about getting enough sleep, eating properly and drinking plenty of water. The visitors both at the hospital and at the loft were also a continuous stream. Luke checked in on Lulu every day and kept work going on the Haunted Star so she could have the grand reopening whenever she was ready. Her brothers started packing up the loft so they could help her move as soon as they found a house. She had never had so much love and attention from her family.

One evening, Luke stopped by the loft to check in on Lulu and she invited him in.

"Dad, I have something to ask you and you can feel free to say no but I wanted to throw it out there."

"Go for it. I'm ready." Luke said, looking at his daughter intently.

"Would you like to buy out half of the Haunted Star and run it together?" Lulu asked tentatively. "With the baby coming, it's going to be difficult to devote my full attention to the Haunted Star but I still want to reopen it."

"Baby girl, there is nothing I would like more." Luke answered immediately.

"Really? You would want to own it and run it together?" Lulu was surprised.

"I would love to. It is the best of both worlds. I get back into a business that I loved and I get to spend time with you. You name your price and it's sold." Luke said.

Lulu hugged her father. It felt like everything was falling into place finally. With the money for half the Haunted Star they would be able to buy a much nicer house than they would have been able to afford before.

The next day, Lulu rushed into Dante's hospital room with a giant grin on her face.

"What's got my baby so happy?" Dante asked, stretching out his arms for her to come to him. She gave him a big kiss and then curled up next to him in his hospital bed.

"My dad is going to buy half of the Haunted Star. We are going to run it together and the money is going to go towards our new house." She told him excitedly.

"You don't have to do that you know. We can manage without you selling half." Dante didn't want her to give up control of the Haunted Star just to buy a big house.

"Honey, I want to. I want to do this for our family and I want to work with my dad. It is the perfect scenario." Lulu assured him.

"Only if you are sure." Dante said kissing the top of her head.

"I'm sure. Speaking of houses - your mom has been so awesome. She set up an appointment with a realtor this afternoon to get started on the house hunt. I'm going to take video on my phone and come back tonight so we can look at them together."

"I wish I could be there to do this with you. I'm sorry that I can't." Dante said feeling guilty.

"I need you here in this hospital getting better as fast as you can. I don't like sleeping alone in our bed at home." Lulu pouted.

"I promise, I'm doing everything the doctors tell me. I just want to get out of this hospital and back home with you." Dante assured her.

Lulu tilted her face up to his and kissed him. He deepened the kiss and she opened her mouth to allow his tongue entry. After a few moments, she pulled back. "We better stop so we don't get carried away."

Dante groaned and then got a glint in his eye. "Can I convince you to give your injured husband a sponge bath?"

Lulu thought about it for a moment. "I think I have time to do that before I meet your mom. You have been a model patient and I think you do deserve a reward."

Lulu got up from the bed to close and lock the door. She took two bowls into the bathroom to fill with water and then added a little soap to one of them. She took off her cardigan, folded it neatly and put it on the chair leaving just her thin tank top and bra on.

"Any chance I can convince you to do this topless?" Dante asked mischievously, eyeing his wife's breasts bubbling over the top of her tank top.

"No but I may let you cop a feel." Lulu laughed. "Now get that hospital gown off so we can get this show on the road."

He untied the gown at the side and pulled it open, revealing that he wasn't wearing any underwear underneath.

"Dante Falconeri have you been sitting here with no underwear on? What if your gown opened up and someone saw?"

"Who was going to see?" Dante grinned at her.

"What about the doctors and nurses who have to check your wound?"

"Don't you worry about it, I keep myself covered for everyone but you. All of this" He said motioning to his groin "is property of Mrs. Dante Falconeri only."

"Good and don't you forget it. I don't want you giving those nurses a show." She pulled the blankets down and folded them at the end of the bed and then gently pulled the gown out from under Dante and tossed it in the laundry. She got a fresh one out of the closet for when they were finished. "Roll over, I'm going to do your back first."

He carefully rolled over onto his front, leaning to one side as to not put pressure on his wound. She carefully washed his back with the soapy water and then worked her way down. She skipped his ass and washed his legs and then went to work on his feet. She rinsed the cloth and then set about carefully washing his adorable ass. "You have the cutest behind." Lulu said as she worked, carefully making sure she got every inch of it. She tossed that cloth in the laundry and got a new one to dip in the other bowl without the soap. She rinsed him off and then patted him dry with a towel. "Flip over."

He turned over and she could see a mixture of love and heat in his eyes. "You are really good at this baby."

She dipped her cloth in the soapy water and started with his face. She carefully washed his face and down his neck and shoulders. He could take his eyes off of her breasts in her tight tank top. She lifted one arm up and washed underneath and then across his stomach, avoiding his stitches and over to under his other arm. His cock was hard by now but she skipped his groin and washed down his legs to his feet. She rinsed off the cloth and hesitated. "I think you missed a spot." Dante grunted at her.

"Did I?" She teased. "What spot would that be?"

"This spot." He said as he grabbed her hand with the cloth in it and placed it on his groin.

"I guess I did." She said as her hand tightened around his cock, rubbing the cloth up and down. She carefully washed the whole area as he watched her with lust in his eyes. Dante tossed his head back against the pillow as she worked trying to keep breathing. She finished cleaning and then rinsed him off, again taking plenty of time on the groin. If he had the strength, he would have flipped her over onto her back and taken her right there, he was so hard. "Baby, please." He asked. She didn't even have to ask what he wanted. She knew. She finished drying him off and then rubbed her hand up and down his hard cock rapidly, her other hand reaching down to cup his balls. After a few minutes she suddenly she bent down and took him in her mouth and started bobbing her head up and down. He grunted as he came moments later due to all the prior stimulation. She swallowed every last drop and then took the cloth to clean him up once again. She helped him into the clean hospital gown and went into the bathroom to freshen up. When she came out she found her husband looking happy as a clam.

"That was just to tide you over until you are cleared to do what I know we both want to do." Lulu said, kissing him lightly.

Dante sighed happily. "I feel amazing right now. I love you."

"I love you too." She said as she put her cardigan back on. She cleaned up the bowls and tossed all of the washcloths in the laundry. She gave him one more long, lingering kiss before she unlocked and opened the door. "Now I have to go look at houses. I'll be back later with my findings."

"Give me another kiss before you go." Dante said.

Lulu walked back over to his bed and leaned over to kiss him. "Bye honey."

"Bye Baby. I miss you already." He put his hand on her still flat stomach. "Bye baby."

"I'll be back in a few hours. You behave yourself." Lulu grinned at him as she left.


	24. Chapter 24

**Hi Everyone, I apologize for the long delay on this chapter. I had some trouble writing it. There will eventually be an epilogue for this story but for now this is the end. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please read and review :)**

**Chapter 24**

Lulu spent the next few days looking at houses with the realtor and Olivia. She wasn't in love with any of them until they pulled up to the very last house of the day. It was white with a wrap around porch and a huge yard. She tried to hold in her excitement until she saw the inside. She got out her phone and took video of the outside to show Dante and then they ventured inside. The house was empty and looked like it was recently renovated.

"I'll let you have a look around. Let me know if you have any questions." The realtor said as she went out onto the porch to take a phone call.

"This is nice Lulu. What do you think?" Olivia asked.

"It's beautiful so far. Let's look around." Lulu said. The rooms were large, bright and airy with gleaming wood floors. They got to the kitchen and it was huge with all new stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops. "Dante would love cooking in here." They looked at a dining room, living room, laundry room, bathroom and den plus a finished basement downstairs. She stopped and took video in each room for Dante to see and then they went upstairs. There were four bedrooms including a huge master suite with walk-in closets and a giant bathroom. While Olivia was in another room, Lulu took video of the big tub in the master bathroom and then turned the camera to her face. "Think of the sponge baths we could have in there." She said as she raised her eyebrows. She went to check out the other bedrooms. Two of the bedrooms shared a Jack and Jill bathroom and the other bedroom had it's own. All of the rooms were sunny and bright. This house was perfect. She looked out the window into the backyard and the previous family left a swing set behind. Lulu got emotional looking at it.

"Lulu, honey what is wrong?" Olivia asked, totally confused.

"Nothing is wrong. This house is beautiful and I was just looking at the swing set and picturing Dante pushing our child on the swing. I'm pregnant, my emotions are all over the place." Lulu said as she wiped her tears. Olivia took the phone out of Lulu's hand and turned the camera on.

"See this Dante. I think this is the house. Your wife is crying happy tears picturing you out in the backyard with the kids." Olivia said. She handed the phone back to Lulu and they laughed.

"I think this is the one. I can't wait to show it to Dante." Lulu said excitedly.

"Let's go. I'll drop you at the hospital." Olivia offered.

They said goodbye to the Realtor. Lulu told her she would be in touch with her the next day after she talked to her husband but they were very interested.

Lulu found Dante reading a car magazine in his hospital room looking bored. "I'm back!" She announced as she entered the room.

"I missed you! How did the house hunting go? See anything interesting today?" He asked as moved over so Lulu could climb into bed with him.

"It went great. I think I found the one! As long as you love it too of course." She handed him the listing book on the house and then dug out her phone to show him the video. They watched the video and laughed when they got to the part about the tub. Then they got to the part where Lulu was crying and Dante squeezed her tight.

"What do you think?" Lulu asked anxiously.

"Baby, it's perfect." He said.

"Are you sure you aren't just saying that because you know I love it?" Lulu asked.

"It's perfect. It has a great kitchen, a huge yard and that big tub. I'm sold." He assured her. "Plus it is near the station and the Haunted Star."

Lulu squealed and hugged Dante, peppering his face with kisses. "I'm going to call the realtor and tell her we want to put in an offer."

Lulu called and let the realtor know. Lulu agreed to stop by the office in the morning to sign the papers for the offer.

"Now there is something important we have to discuss. That ugly brown couch from the loft is only coming with us if it goes to the basement."

"Hey! We have had a lot of fun on that couch." Dante said winking at her.

"Yes we have and that's why I'm even letting it go in the basement." Lulu laughed.

"Fine but you have to go down there with me every once in awhile to visit it for old time's sake."

"Okay fine." Lulu agreed still laughing.

"I can't believe we put in an offer on a house. When did we become grown ups?" Dante asked.

"When you got me pregnant and we outgrew that tiny loft." Lulu giggled.

The next day, Lulu went by the realtor's office and signed the offer. The buyer got back to them immediately accepting the offer and allowing them to move in right away since the house was empty. Lulu took them up on it and called her brothers to tell them she would need their help with the moving. She wanted to surprise Dante and have the house set up (or at least as set-up as she could with the little furniture from the loft) when he got out of the hospital in three weeks.

Three weeks later and it was finally time for Dante to get out of the hospital. Lulu hadn't told him that all of their stuff was already moved over to the new house. Instead she told him she wanted to bring him by there on the way home so he could see it. They arrived and parked in the driveway and Dante slowly got out of the car.

"It's awesome baby. I can't believe this is our house. I can't wait to move in." He said as he slowly made his way to the front door.

"You ready to see the inside?"

"I'm ready."

Lulu opened the door with her key and grabbed Dante's hand to lead him inside.

"Baby, our stuff is here."

"Surprise! I had Ethan, Nik, Lucky, my dad and your dad help me move. Well your dad didn't so much help as told Max and Milo to do it while he supervised. Your mom helped me pick out a few pieces of furniture but I wanted to do the rest with you."

Dante was stunned. He was wondering how he was going to be able to coordinate a move with his healing injury and now he didn't have to.

"Wow." Was all Dante could come up with.

"Come on, let's go look at the rest!" Lulu showed him around the downstairs and then brought him downstairs to the basement. "This is your man room. I put the old couch down here and that leather chair you love. I bought a new TV so you can have your brothers and my brothers over to watch the Yankees. I even put in a little fridge for beer."

Dante turned around and kissed Lulu hard on the mouth. "You are the best wife" another kiss. "any guy" another kiss " could ever ask for."

Lulu laughed. "I guess you like it?"

"It's perfect." He said and then he kissed her again.

"Come on, let's go see the upstairs." Lulu said taking his hand again. She brought him up the two flights of stairs and showed him the bedrooms. "I thought this one could be for the baby since it is close to our room. I didn't do any decorating or anything in here because I wanted to do that together. Plus we don't know if we are having a boy or girl yet."

"I'm happy you saved this for us to do together." He said rubbing her back.

"Let's go look at our bedroom." Lulu said as she led him into the hall and entered their room.

"It is huge. It looks even bigger in person."

She showed him the closet where she had already hung up all of their clothes and the bathroom with the giant tub.

"So, what do you think?"

"I love it and I love you. Thank you for doing all of this."

"You always take such good care of me, especially for the last few months. I just wanted to do something for you." Lulu said wrapping her arms around him, careful not to put any pressure on his wound.

"I'm going to take a shower. What do you say to a little nap with your husband afterwards? You should be resting."

"Sounds good to me. I'm exhausted from the move." She said stifling a yawn. Lulu pulled down the shades and undressed while Dante showered. She climbed into bed to wait for him and quickly fell asleep. Dante came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist to find Lulu started napping without him. He chuckled and tossed the towel into the hamper, climbing into bed next to her. He breathed in her scent, reveling in the fact that he could stretch out with her in their own bed. He missed this the most while he was in the hospital. She woke up briefly and cuddled into his side, kissing his chest. "I love you." She said and fell back asleep.

"I love you too." He said as he drifted off himself.

A couple of hours later, Dante woke up feeling refreshed. He looked at his sleeping wife. She was so amazing to have found them a house and coordinated the moving while he was in he hospital. He hated that she had to do all of that herself but was happy to be home with her. Now they could focus on furnishing the new house and getting ready for the baby coming in a few months. Dante pulled the covers back to look at Lulu's body. Her breasts were definitely more full and he could see the tiniest baby bump starting to form. He reached out to run a hand over her stomach. He was still in awe of the fact that they made a child together that was growing inside her. Male pride welled inside of him and he wondered when exactly it had happened. They made love so often that he shouldn't be surprised she got pregnant once she accidentally went off her birth control. He ran his hands up to her breasts. They were definitely even bigger. Lulu woke up to the feeling of his hands on her. "Mmmmm, what are you up to there Mr. Falconeri?" She asked opening her eyes.

"I'm just seeing what's changed and saying hello to our baby. I'm so happy to be home." Dante said as he ran his hands down her sides and started tugging down her underwear.

"We shouldn't be doing this. You just got out of the hospital." Lulu said even though she wanted to more than anything. She didn't want to risk Dante's health. "What did the doctor say?"

Dante stopped pulling on her panties and sighed. "He said I should wait one more week before engaging in any strenuous physical activity. It doesn't have to be strenuous though! We can take it easy."

"I don't want to risk it. You know we can't control ourselves once we get going. I'm just so relieved that you are okay and we can finally move forward with our lives after all of the terrible things that have happened. We made it and we're free now." Lulu said as she reached out to stroke his face.

"We are going to have a long and happy future together and this past year is solid proof that we can make it through any damn thing that's thrown our way." He said and then he rubbed his hand along her stomach. "I can't wait to meet our kid. Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know why but I just have this feeling it is going to be a boy." Lulu said. "I would be happy with either as long as the child is happy and healthy but I think it will be a boy."

"I would be happy with either too." Dante said.

"My dad and I are throwing a party to reopen the Haunted Star next weekend. He has been overseeing the renovations and it is just about ready." Lulu said.

"Are you sure you are up to throwing a big party like that in your condition?" Dante asked warily.

"Dante, I'm pregnant, not an invalid." Lulu laughed. "I feel really healthy now and I have been taking good care of myself like the doctor said. I haven't had one dizzy spell or anything."

"I just don't want you to overdo it." Dante said and he kissed her softly before sliding out of bed. "I'll be right back." She admired him from behind as he walked into the bathroom and shut the door. He came out a few minutes later and looked around their room. "I can't believe we are all moved in here. This bedroom is the size of the entire loft almost."

"We still have to furnish a bunch of rooms and stuff. We have time to do that though. I'm just happy to be here in our bedroom that has a door. Nobody can barge in like they always did at the loft." Lulu said as she sat up in bed.

"That's a definite plus." Dante said as he stood in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips still looking around. Lulu smiled to herself as she watched her handsome, naked husband look around their new bedroom. "What are you grinning about over there?" He asked when he saw her smiling.

"I was just marveling at how lucky I am to have such a sexy and wonderful husband. I'm insanely in love with you." She said still grinning from ear to ear.

"Good because I'm insanely in love with you too." Dante said as he walked over to the bed and leaned down to give her a hot kiss and then climbed back into bed with her. He stroked her back lazily. "I am hungry and you and the baby need to eat."

"I'll order us a pizza. Can we get pineapple and pepperoni on it?" Lulu asked.

"That sounds disgusting." Dante said making a face.

"It's what the baby wants." She said rubbing her stomach.

"We better get two pizzas then. One normal one and one pregnancy craving one." Dante laughed.

They spent the evening eating pizza and enjoying being alone together after so many nights apart.

The following week was filled with party planning for the opening of the Haunted Star. Dante tried to help but Lulu told him he had to stay home and rest. The first night would be for family and friends and then the following night would be the big bash to open it to the public. She and Maxie cooked up the idea to have Crimson sponsor the official opening and they invited advertisers and press to gain exposure. Lulu had some notoriety as the woman who came back from the dead and they were using it to their advantage. It was a lot to take on but Lulu loved every minute of it.

Finally the weekend arrived and Lulu was at home changing for the party. Her bump still wasn't really showing so she decided to wear a sexy dress while she could still fit into it though she was already a little curvier than she was used to. Maxie got her a Herve Lerger v-neck sequined bandage dress leftover from a photoshoot. She paired it with sky high silver stilettos that made her legs look a mile long. She tied her hair up in a loose bun and didn't wear any jewelry since the dress itself was so spectacular. She laid out Dante's black suit with a crisp white shirt and black tie for the occasion. He was back at the PCPD on desk duty and was due home from work any minute to quickly shower and get dressed. Lulu was finishing her make-up in the bathroom when she heard him calling her name to indicate he was home.

"I'm up here!" Lulu said as started filling her clutch with make-up for touch ups later in the night.

"Sorry, I'm late." Dante said as he came into the bedroom. "Wow." He said as soon as he saw her.

"Do I look okay? Am I too fat already for this dress?" Lulu asked as she turned around so he could see the whole thing. "Tell me the truth." She warned.

"Are you kidding me? You have never looked hotter." Dante said as he came towards her with a heated look on his face.

"Don't you mess me up." She said as she put her hands up and stepped back. "We don't have time for that, go get in the shower. Alone."

Dante sighed with disappointment. "Fine but I get to mess you up later. It's been a week and I'm cleared for strenuous activity."

"As soon as we get home from the party." Lulu promised with a smile.

"I'm going to hold you too that." Dante said as he stripped off his clothes and tossed them in the hamper before going into the bathroom to shower. She watched him go and sighed. She wished they weren't running late because damn did she have a hot husband. It had been a month since they last made love and the few things they could do like that naughty sponge bath in the hospital weren't holding her over anymore.

They arrived at the Haunted Star early so Lulu could be there to greet the guests. Luke came out of the back wearing a nice suit.

"Cupcake! You look beautiful." He said as he came up to give her a hug hello.

"Detective, good to see you up and around." He said as he shook Dante's hand.

"It's good to be up and around. The place looks great." Dante complimented.

"That's all her doing. She made all of the final decisions on the décor." Luke said.

The place was completely revamped but it still had the vintage casino feel. They turned one of the function rooms into a dance club to get the younger crowd to come. Lulu hired a DJ for Friday and Saturday nights. One of the other larger rooms was turned into a lounge where people could relax and have refreshments from a small menu. Eventually Lulu wanted to turn it into a full restaurant but thought it would be too much to take on right from the start. Tonight was the party for their friends and family. Lulu wanted to use it as an opportunity to thank all of them for their help and support over the last several months.

Olivia was the first guest to arrive with Dr. Steven Webber as her date. Lulu went up to greet her with Dante following behind.

"Olivia, thank you so much for coming. You look great." Lulu said as she gave the woman a hug. "Steve, thank you for coming as well." Lulu said as she hugged him warmly too.

"Lulu, you look fantastic. That dress is to die for." Olivia said.

"Thank you! Maxie got it for me from Crimson. I figured I should wear it while I still can." She joked.

"You are just glowing." Olivia said.

"Ma, let me get you a drink." Dante said as he offered her his arm to lead her to the bar.

Steve hung back for a minute to speak to Lulu. "Are you feeling okay Lulu? Are you resting enough and eating?" He asked.

"Yes, Dante makes sure of it and when Dante was in the hospital Olivia made sure of it. You never go hungry with a Falconeri around." Lulu said with a smile.

"I know that's true. I have gained 10lbs since getting together with Olivia." Steve joked.

"Thank you for your concern." Lulu was touched that he was worried about her.

"The Spencers and the Webbers go back a long way. My sister was married to your brother. We have nephews in common. I consider you family and I hope you consider me family as well." Steven said.

Lulu hugged Steven again. "That really means a lot to me. I consider you family too."

Dante was at the bar with Olivia waiting for their drinks. "Ma, I just want to thank you for helping Lulu while I was in the hospital. She told me how great you were with the move and everything. I really appreciate it more than you could possibly know."

"Oh honey of course. Lulu is family. I can't wait to meet my grandbaby." Olivia said excitedly.

Just then Steve and Lulu walked up to join them. Dante handed Lulu a soda water. "Do you want to sit down baby?" He asked.

"No thank you. I'm fine." She said. Just then Lucky walked in with Elizabeth so Lulu went over to greet them. Elizabeth thanked Lulu for inviting her and then excused herself to say hello to Steven and Olivia.

"I'm surprised to see you here with Elizabeth." Lulu said with her eyebrows raised.

"We are working on being friends and co-parents." Lucky said.

"Are you doing okay? I'm sure it was difficult to find out about Siobhan." Lulu asked with concern. They hadn't gotten a chance to really talk since everything happened.

"It has been hard but I'm hanging in there. I'm handling things the right way this time and I'm going to meetings." Lucky said.

"I'm really proud of you Lucky." Lulu said and she gave him a hug. "Thanks for coming tonight."

"I wouldn't miss it." Lucky said.

The room filled up quickly after that. Tracy, Edward and Monica arrived together followed by Kristina and Michael. Sonny arrived alone since he and Kate were no longer together. Mac came with Maxie and Matt. Ethan and Nik both arrived solo. The guests were all mingling and having a great time. Once everyone arrived, Lulu decided she should say something to the crowd. She stood up on the steps and clinked her class to get their attention.

"Everyone, I just want to say thank you for coming and more importantly thank you for your support these last several months. Dante and I have been through a lot and we couldn't have made it if it weren't for you all. Dante, will you come up here?" They planned to tell everyone who didn't already know that she was pregnant since she was past the safe zone. Dante went up to join her and slid his arm around her waist. "We also have some news for those of you that don't already know. Dante and I are having a baby!"

The crowd erupted into cheers as Olivia raised her glass to toast them. "To my first grandbaby!" The crowd toasted them and then rushed forward to congratulate them.

"You're pregnant?" Lulu heard from behind her. She spun around knowing instantly that it was her mother's voice.

"Mom?" Lulu said as she rushed forward. "What are you doing here?"

"Your father called and told me everything. I needed to come home and be with my family." Laura said as she hugged Lulu tightly. "Is it true? Are you having a baby?"

"Yes!" Lulu said, not wanting to let go.

"Oh Lulu, I'm so happy for you two." She let go of Lulu and gave Dante a big hug too.

"Mom!" Lucky said as he came up to hug her with Nikolas following close behind.

"All of my kids together in one place. I'm so happy to be with you all." Laura said.

"Are you staying for good?" Lulu asked hopefully.

"Yes, I found a facility in New York that can treat me as an outpatient. I'm back for good." Laura assured them.

"Hello Angel." Luke said coming up behind the kids.

"Hello Luke." Laura said. "Thanks for calling me." She said and they hugged tentatively. Everyone faded back to give them room to talk.

People were coming up and congratulating them one by one. Kristina and Michael were ecstatic to have a niece or nephew on the way. Elizabeth was thrilled that Aiden and Cameron would have a new cousin.

Sonny came up and gave Lulu a kiss on the cheek before shaking Dante's hand. "I know this isn't news to me but I wanted to come over and congratulate you again. I can't believe I'm going to be a grandpa."

"Sonny, I just wanted to thank you for helping us these past few months. Dante may never have found me if it wasn't for your help." Lulu said as she gave him a hug.

"I have a lot to make up for when it comes to you two and I don't think a lifetime of supporting you will be enough but I'm trying." Sonny said. "This place looks wonderful. You should be very proud." He said before excusing himself.

Lulu surveyed the room as Dante's hands slid around her waist and he rested his chin on her shoulder. "Do you think everyone is having fun?"

"Look at them all. Everyone seems to be having a great time." Dante said and he kissed her neck.

"I can't believe my mom is here. She looks great." Lulu said as she watched her parents talking closely.

"Wait until she meets my mom. The two grandmas will be unstoppable." Dante laughed. "Now when do we get to go home Mrs. Falconeri?" He said as he held her a little tighter and nibbled on her ear.

"The party seems to be winding down. One more hour and then we can go home." Lulu was tired and her feet hurt. She wouldn't have minded leaving right then but it was her party and she had to stay.

"One hour and then you are all mine." Dante said into her ear.

"Now let's go introduce your mom to my mom before we get carried away here." Lulu said extracting herself from his grasp to head over to Olivia.

"Olivia, come meet my mom." Lulu said as she brought her over to where Laura was standing. "Mom, this is Olivia Falconeri, Dante's mom. Olivia this is my mother Laura Spencer."

"It's so nice to finally meet you." Olivia said as they hugged.

"Lulu speaks so highly of you. I just want to thank you for being there for my daughter. It means the world to me that she has you for support." Laura said warmly.

"I couldn't love Lulu any more if she was my own kid. She's family." Olivia said and the two women got to chatting.

Lulu pulled Luke aside. "Dad, thanks for calling mom. I'm so happy she came."

"Me too Cupcake. It's great to see her." Luke agreed with a wistful look in his eyes. "So it looks like we have a success on our hands." He said gesturing to the party.

"We won't know for sure until we open to the public tomorrow night but so far so good. I'm glad we got to do this together." Lulu said.

An hour later the guests had dwindled down to just a few. Laura was tired after her travels and went to check into the MetroCourt. Olivia insisted on going with her and making sure she was upgraded to a luxury suite. Lulu invited her to stay at their house but they didn't have a bed in the guest room yet and Laura sensed that Dante was looking forward to some time alone with his wife by the stricken look on his face when Lulu made the offer. One by one the guests said their goodbyes and left until there were just a few remaining.

Dante came up next to Lulu and slid a hand on her bottom to give it a little squeeze. "Your hour is up baby. Time to go."

"Dante!" She exclaimed. "Someone will see."

"Then let's go because I can't wait anymore." He said heatedly with his hands still on her. She saw her dad coming and pulled out of Dante's grasp quickly.

"Dad, I'm exhausted. Is it okay if I head home now? Will you be okay to wrap things up?" Lulu asked.

"Sure Cupcake, you go on ahead." Luke said and he hugged her goodbye.

"Goodnight Luke." Dante said as he quickly ushered Lulu out the door.

He opened the passenger door for Lulu to get into the car and then ran around to the driver's side. Once he was inside he leaned forward and kissed Lulu passionately. "I'm very proud of you Baby. I can't wait to get home and show you how proud."

"Get us home then!" Lulu said. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. As Dante drove, she leaned down to take off her heels and sooth her aching feet. When she sat up, Dante rested his hand on her knee and it slid up her mostly exposed thigh. "Have I told you how hot you look in this dress?"

"You may have mentioned that a time or two. You aren't looking so bad yourself in that suit." Lulu said. His hand drifted between her thighs and she grabbed it before it could go any further. "We are almost home."

They pulled into the driveway and Lulu went to put her shoes back on so she could walk into the house. "Don't bother with that, wait there." Dante said and he came around to open her door. He lifted her out of the car and she shrieked with laughter.

"Dante are you sure you should be doing this?" Lulu asked as he carried her to the front door and carefully opened it with his key.

"I feel fantastic." Dante said as he kicked the door closed behind them and started up the stairs.

"We are inside the house now, I can walk." Lulu said still giggling.

"I'm not taking any chances on you getting distracted on the way up to the bedroom. We are on a mission." He said as he brought her into their room and set her down. He quickly started to undress. His jacket and shirt were on the ground in no time.

"Sit down." Lulu said as she brought him over to the bed. She knelt down to take off his shoes and socks. Then she stood up and walked away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Dante protested as he unbuttoned and discarded his pants.

"I'm setting the mood." She said as she came out of their closet with an arm load of candles. He watched her light candles around the room and then turn off the overhead light leaving the room in a soft, romantic glow.

"I appreciate the romance here baby but I have been in the mood for a month." Dante said as he eyed her hungrily. "Looking at you in that dress all night nearly put me over the edge. It took all of my willpower not to take you into the bathroom and have my way with you."

"Oh this dress?" She said as she ran her hands down her body. "It's a little tight. You won't mind if I take if off will you?"

"I insist that you do." Dante said as he watched her unzip the dress and turn around. It fell to the ground and he could see she was only wearing a tiny thong underneath. She reached up and undid her hair so it fell down over her back and then looked at him over her shoulder. Dante crooked his finger at her and beckoned for her to come to him. She turned around and walked towards the bed right in between his legs. He grabbed her and pulled her forward reaching around to grab her behind while he took a breast in his mouth. He leaned back pulling her on top of him. They kissed for a long time with their bare chests pressed together as they whispered words of love to each other. She sat up and ran her hands lightly down his chest before grabbing his boxer briefs and pulling down carefully over his already rock hard erection. She settled on her knees between his legs and leaned down to kiss his stomach and down to his groin just above his cock. He was propped up on his elbows watching her every move. She used her hand to steady his cock and then stuck her tongue out to swirl it around the tip. She lifted it up so she could lick the underside from base to tip. He fell back onto the bed with a groan and gripped the sheets. She took the tip in her mouth again and slowly hollowed her cheeks as she took him in inch by inch until she couldn't take anymore. She bobbed up and down a few times before Dante stopped her. "It's been too long. I want to be inside you when I come." He said as he pulled her up and rolled her on to her back. He pulled her thong off and spread her legs, leaning down to nuzzle into her center. He spent a moment kissing her there to make sure she was good and wet before he sat up. He ran his cock down her wet center before placing the tip at her entrance and pushing in slightly. She was tight after weeks apart. He came down over her so they were face to face and kissed her thrusting his tongue into her mouth as he slowly thrust his cock inside. Once he was fully seated inside they both sighed into each other's mouths. He didn't move right away and just enjoyed the deep physical and emotional connection while they kissed with wet open mouth kisses. He slowly pulled out and thrust back in causing her to cry out and open her eyes. They locked eyes as he began a slow rhythm of deep, hard thrusts. She spread her legs wider and tilted upwards to allow him to go even deeper. Her hands ran down his muscular back to his toned ass to grab it and spur him on. Eventually he picked up the pace until they were racing to a climax together. The way he was entering her hit her in just the right spot and she grabbed onto him tightly as she came with a cry. He only lasted a couple more thrusts before he came deep inside her. They held onto each other tightly enjoying the intimate moment. A tear ran down Lulu's cheek as she looked at him looking back at her with so much love.

He kissed the tear away. "I love you."

"I love you too. I'm so lucky to have you." She said. "You never gave up on me even when everyone else did."

"Giving up wasn't an option. I didn't think love like this was possible and now that I have it I'm never letting it go." Dante said and he kissed her again trying to convey just how much he loved her. He rolled them onto their sides. "I think that was our best time yet."

"You say that every time." Lulu laughed.

"It gets better every time." Dante shrugged with a smile.

Lulu reached up to stroke his face. "I'm so incredibly happy in this moment with you. We have a beautiful new house, the Haunted Star is open, you are healthy again and we have a baby coming. It's like a dream come true."

"This is much better than any dream I ever had." Dante said as he ran a hand down her side. They kissed and then Lulu drifted off to sleep with her head on Dante's chest. He lay there looking at her in the candlelight feeling a peaceful happiness settle over him.


End file.
